Stonebrook High School
by CrystalTearsofFaith
Summary: {MCSM LUKESSE/JETRA HIGH SCHOOL AU} The twin Jesses have finished summer and are going back to school with the rest of the gang: Olivia, Axel, and Petra! They all want to start off with a bang but are unsure what to do when explosions follow shortly after. Especially when the team that has been kicking their butts in the Endercon competitions come into play. Time to change things.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Welcome to the world of Minecraft: Story Mode– except it's 2016 and it takes place in a high school setting! Tbh I think I still need to work on the chapters a bit, but screw it! And yes, both Jesses are here :)**

 **However, I won't be on that often. To read the rest of this story until I find time to convert the files, please visit my Wattpad: CrystallizeFlower**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Crystal** ✿

 **[**NOTE:** This Minecraft: Story Mode is **rated T** due to _slang_ , _swearing_ , possible _inappropriate jokes_ , and possible _heavy topics_. **_Please read with caution!_**

I do not own Minecraft: Story Mode or anything related to it. I only own this story. ****]**

 **This story is based on some concept art by pifemoteddy on DeviantArt/romaheroic on Tumblr! Go check them out!**

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"Jesse!" called out the dark brown-haired woman who grabbed a box from a high shelf. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, mom! All I need is Jess's bag!"

"Find your sister, then!"

The brown-haired boy went off and looked around the small, cozy house for his sister. Since she bore the same name as he, he simply called her Jess. "Jess! Where are you?"

"I'm upstairs! Just saying goodbye to the house..."

Jesse smiled lightly, softly walking upstairs as to not disturb her. When he reached the attic that had been their room, he looked across, finding her gazing out the window. Her hands were leaning on their large desk and a feel of serenity was encircling the both of them. He walked up to her, placing his hand on her shoulder as they both looked outside. The sun was setting and lit the fields with a glowing amber color.

"... I'll miss the farm. Do you think Reuben will still watch over us in the city, Jay?" The boy turned to steal a glance at his sister who was staring longingly at the sunset.

"Of course he will. He came with us everywhere we went. Even in the city."

Female Jesse quietly laughed. "Do you think they'll mix us up? Having the same name and all?"

Male Jesse smirked and exhaled in amusement. "They always will. But I call you Jess and you call me Jay. They'll grow onto those nicknames. Besides, you're called Jesse more than I am."

Jess rolled her eyes. "They always misspell it, though. 'Jessie' with an i. Well, I guess it'll be how they distinguish the difference between us on paper. Also, I'm just going to say 'Jesse' and not 'Jay.' That nickname is reserved for you and me only. I'll stay with Jess." She stuck out her tongue playfully.

"We've stayed in the city before, and this will be no problem for the both of us. Petra's living in the city now, and Olivia is studying there, too! Axel's also in the city. They're there if we need any help. I know we can handle it. We're partners-in-crime, not to mention twin siblings! We'll be an unstoppable team!"

She grinned and placed her hands on her hip confidently. "Yeah. We'll always be together, inexorable!"

Jesse's eyes widened and he smirked even wider. "That's a new word. I don't think I can even say it."

"I've been catching up on my vocabulary."

"Heh, well, you should probably finish your goodbyes to the fields and then put your stuff in the car. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

He turned to walk away and was about to when Jess grabbed his shoulder and expressed a reflective demeanor. "Say the last goodbye with me? I know you'll miss this place as much as I will."

He sighed and held her hand, facing the window again. She knew him too well. Maybe that was a benefit from being twins.

After a moment of silence, they backed away from the window and started down the stairs. It was time to leave.

~*Ω*~

The ride from the peaceful, forested countryside to the busy city atmosphere was most certainly bumpy. The road hadn't been repaired in ages, leaving multiple potholes and crevices in the ground. It was alright for the Jesse twins, though. They listened to their favorite music, played games, and even admired the view outside the large family van. "Boring" was not a word they recognized. Every moment with them was exciting and suspenseful. Whether it was playing hopscotch or lying on the couch, they had a way to make it fun in more than fifteen different ways.

The three-hour ride (which should have been one hour but wasn't due to the condition of the road) didn't even seem like three hours to them. It had seemed more like half an hour, which disappointed them, seeing as they were having so much fun. Their driver hadn't noticed the time fluttering by either, as he had been listening to the twins and laughing along with them. Of course, he charged them extra for the gas, but he offered them a fee waiver for the joy he had received. Happily, they accepted and thanked him.

Taking all of their bags and extra things out from the car, they admired the residence they stood in front of.

It was an apartment building, the outside seeming outdated and dilapidated– but when they entered the building, it was one of the most beautiful places they had ever seen (although it could not compare to one of their parents' friend's place). A glass chandelier hung from the ceiling, and white quartz and marble tiles were aligned in a pattern that resembled a star on the floor. The front desk was made out of wood (Jess assumed it was oak wood from the pattern) and had a sort of waterfall effect on the side. The walls were all a sort of cream color and had a glaze-like look to them.

They brought their bags upstairs with some help from the receptionist and the elevator and attempted to find the room they were searching for. Not long after that, they found the room and knocked three times.

"Hello? Auntie?" Jess brought her ear to the door and listened carefully, waiting for the sound of footsteps or a voice.

"She should be home by now," remarked Jesse as he looked at his watch. 9:00 PM. "Should we call her?"

"Yeah. Is your phone on you? Mine is in my carry-on, and I don't feel like taking it out."

"I got it." Jesse pulled his Cloud out and tapped in his password before pressing the small device to the side of his face. "Hopefully she picks up. She usually does."

 _Ring, ring._

 _Ring, ring._

" _... Hello? Is that you, Jesse, dear?_ "

"Oh, Aunt Carrie! Yes, this is Jesse, the boy."

" _If you're calling about the room, please wait a little bit longer! I'm stuck in traffic and the rain isn't helping either. I don't remember if I told your mother or not, but I'm coming home from out of state. I'm about an hour away from the apartment, so please have the receptionist open the door for you!_ "

"Alright. Do you need to talk with the receptionist or... do I just ask her?"

" _Give the phone to her, I need to tell her my door password. Oh, and please tell her your name; she needs to register you two and confirm who you are._ "

"Okay, thank you, Aunt Carrie. I'll pass the phone on to the receptionist." He muted himself on the phone and signaled to Jess, indicating he would be back soon. She nodded and stayed in the middle of the hall, watching over their stuff.

Going downstairs using the elevator, Jesse unmuted the call and held it to the lady behind the front desk. "My name is Jesse Ryder and my sister is also Jesse- this is my aunt on the phone." The receptionist seemed to understand, grabbing the phone and talking to Aunt Carrie. After a minute of talking and verifying, the lady pulled out a pair of keycards and normal keys, scanning them underneath a machine attached to her computer. Four _beeps_ were heard and the lady held the items out to Jesse, including his phone, who took them with a relieved exhale.

"Thank you," he breathed and then left to return to Jess.

Jesse gave a keycard and a normal key to Jess and they opened the door, dragging their bags in. Once they finished bringing in their stuff, they admired the abnormally large rooms and the perfection of the decoration.

"I forgot how much Auntie loved her ornate objects," commented Jess as she bent down to look closely at an intricately carved vase. "Everything is always so glam for her."

"Only she would buy a room in an apartment that looks like it was ravaged by elephants on the outside," chuckled Jesse. "Guess this really works with the adage, 'Looks are not always what they seem.'"

"Or 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"

"Yeah, that works too."

Jess straightened herself out and stretched. "We better unpack our stuff and organize everything. Heaven knows how much we have stored away in one bag."

"Okay," nodded Jesse, "let's get started. Maybe we can even surprise Aunt Carrie with something when we're done?"

"With what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, a gift? Dinner? We can clean the apartment?"

"Let's just get our stuff arranged before we do anything else, how about that?"

"Alright, alright!"

Bringing all of their bags to the room the two of them were sharing, they started opening all of their bags. How they knew which room was theirs even though Aunt Carrie bought this place a month ago? A piece of paper taped on a door with "The Jesses' room" in blue marker.

"First off, we should decide which side we want," listed off Jesse. "Then we should probably move this bed over here so we don't accidentally hit this bar."

"Smart thinking, Jay."

"I try."

"Oh, school starts on Wednesday, right?"

"Mhm."

Jess started to push the bed over to the adjacent wall and threw her backpack on the bed. "I'll call this side, you can get the side next to the bathroom." Immediately she grabbed her carry-on and flipped it over, all of her clothes and amenities and such pouring out from the small luggage. "If we want to visit Axel and Olivia tomorrow and Petra on Tuesday, we have to get all of our stuff ready. It's Saturday night right now, so if we work quickly and efficiently we can get Monday all to ourselves and we can walk around town and see what changed, maybe even buy some things to bring back for Mother and Father when Fall week comes."

"Sounds good to me."

Jesse and Jess started organizing their clothes and setting up their necessities, listening to music while they were at it. At one point, they even sang along to Spongebob as they passed around clothes and tools on a clothesline- the ultimate lameness within them.

Within two hours, they had everything set up and neatly put away, and now all they had to do was wait for Aunt Carrie.

Jesse glanced at his watch as he sat on his bed. "It's been two hours. Aunt Carrie said she was an hour away from here. I guess traffic is really bad today?"

Jess looked up at him from her side of the room. "I'm guessing she's on the main Interstate. Earlier, I read an article talking about a major crash on the freeway. Let me double check." Reaching for her phone on her nightstand, she scrolled through a few things with her index finger and stopped when she found it.

"Apparently, they're still trying to solve the traffic, so they have a temporary ramp that leads into another freeway which goes around the crash."

They sat quietly, occasionally looking up to see if anything changed.

"I hope she's okay."

Jess raised her eyebrows and nodded at the boy who was staring at his palms. "She'll be fine." Looking up at the clock hung above the center of the doorway, she jerked her head towards the door. _It's 11:30._ "Come on, let's go for a walk. I think we need some fresh air after being cooped up in the car and in here."

"Right behind you."

As they grabbed their jackets and were about to walk out, Jess peeled the paper on their door off and flipped it over, pulling a pen out of her bag.

 _Out for a walk. We'll be back soon! :) -Jesses_

Leaving it where Aunt Carrie would notice it, they both closed the door behind them.

~*Ω*~

"The town is still pretty, isn't it, Jess?"

"Yeah... Hey, remember that store over there!?" Jess excitedly pointed at a small liquor store far down the street and turned her head to Jesse. He squinted his eyes, trying to follow where she was pointing at, and gasped. "Do you think he's there?"

"I don't know, let's go and see!" She grabbed his hand before he could say anything and ran across the street after looking both ways.

This was where Jesse had a better chance to look at his sister in the moonlight. Her black hair was silky and lustrous in the dark, and her bright green eyes pierced through anything. Her pale skin was only rivaled by the sands of Florida, both warm and soft. The slender figure that worked so well with her personality was stronger than he was altogether. Her red lips were like wine- although he knew his twin sister had never gone out with anybody or was interested in others, she would be addictive to anyone she kissed. He was proud of his sister, his mirror reflection. He loved her with all his heart and would protect her with all of his might.

Jess bust the door open and dragged Jesse in, whipping her head to the left. The bell that hung overhead rang violently as the glass door slammed shut.

"... Hello, there."

"Dave!" exclaimed the two simultaneously. They both ran up to the tall, tan-skinned man and wrapped their arms around him, only able to reach up to his rib cage.

The man chuckled and patted their backs, persuading them to let go of him. "How have you two been?"

"We've been doing well," replied Jess, adding a little hand gesture. "School's starting soon, so we're just making the most out of the time left."

"We just came back to the city today," threw in Jesse, who put his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "and Aunt Carrie isn't back yet, so we decided to go for a little walk."

"At this time of night?" laughed Dave. "You two are the craziest kids I've ever known."

"Don't forget, we're not exactly kids anymore!" grinned Jess.

Jesse held up a hand. "We're fifteen, remember? Sophomores. Sixteen in May."

"You're still kids compared to me," said Dave as he noogied male Jesse. "I'm over thirty, don't you forget that."

"By the way, where were you last year?" asked Jess, who looked up to make eye contact with the man. "When we came here, the store was closed the entire time. Did you go on vacation?"

Dave shrugged. "I wasn't on vacation but I had a chance to do some studies in Canada. It's very beautiful up there. I even met the nicest little girl who gave me a small pin that was shaped like a bear."

"How old was the girl?" Jesse asked as he fixed his jacket.

"She was twelve. So innocent."

Jess smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Was she nicer than me?"

"Pfft," chortled Dave, " _way_ nicer! You're a little mischievous demon, missy!" He winked and Jess, in response, feigned a hurt expression and tears in her large, forest green eyes. "Dave, I thought we were friends...!"

"Now don't you go making those puppy eyes on me, that won't work and you know that too," Dave smirked and put his hands on his waist proudly.

Jess scoffed and dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder. She couldn't help but smile despite her attempt to stay in character.

Jesse's phone started to ring in his jacket pocket and Jess flicked her eyes to him. "Um, sorry, let me just take this call really quickly," he said under his breath, turning his back to the two of them.

"Hello...?"

" _Dear, come home, please. It's almost twelve. Where are you?_ "

"We're at Dave's store, Aunt Carrie. We'll come home right now."

" _Alright. Oh, and tell Dave I said hi._ "

"Okay." He ended the call.

"Jess?" He put his phone away and looked over his shoulder. "We have to go back. Aunt Carrie is worried for us."

"Awh, alright..." Jess reluctantly fixed her jacket and a slight pout could be seen on her lips.

"By the way, Aunt Carrie says hi to you, Dave."

Dave smiled and nodded once. "Tell her I said hi as well. Also, she should come here more often and buy things from me."

"Alright, I gotcha," laughed Jesse. The twins walked to the door and waved one last time to the dark-haired man before leaving the store, the bell ringing above them.

~*Ω*~

"Oh, you two are still adorable!" cooed Aunt Carrie as she dropped the bags of souvenirs onto the table. "Ah, I _love_ your skirt, darling!"

Knowing she was the one being referred to, Jess smiled. "Thanks, Auntie. Your blouse is very beautiful, as well. So, where out of state did you go to?"

"I was on the ocean for a while, about 100 miles from the coast if I remember correctly. I took a boat from California to Mexico and did some business there and then came back to Cali and worked with a man to raise money for a charity event." Aunt Carrie smirked and exhaled lightly. She put some things into a small reusable bag and tied the bag. "It was on a whim, too... It was an impromptu move on my part. I hadn't planned to be out for more than a week, but I was out for almost three. That's why I came home so late. I'm sorry, you two."

"It's alright, Aunt Carrie. None of your actions is rash," assured Jesse. "You have good intentions."

"Thank you, dear. That means a lot to me when you say that." Aunt Carrie smiled softly and turned her head to look at them. "You know, you two are more precious to me than anything else in the world. I'm so glad my sister decided to have children. I'm also glad you two like to stay here with me during the school year. Your aunt Sophia, uncle John, and uncle Brandon are all great people, but it makes me happy you chose me to stay with." She winked.

"We love you a lot, Auntie!" Jess smiled brightly and hugged the light-haired woman. "You're the best aunt anyone could want."

Jesse gladly joined in the hug and snuggled his face in the crook of his aunt's neck. "Only you can make great cupcakes. Mom isn't exactly the best with frosting."

Aunt Carrie laughed and hugged them back. "I'll make some cupcakes for you two to bring when you go back to school. What flavor would you like?"

The two looked at each other over their aunt's bosom and raised eyebrows. "Red velvet?" they both said in unison. Aunt Carrie smiled and patted their heads. "Alright, red velvet cupcakes it is then! Would you two like to help me? You'll have to wake up plenty early to make them, however."

"We're going to be at Petra's on Tuesday," Jesse told his aunt. "I don't know if we'll come home in time to get enough sleep."

"Hmm, well, that's alright! You'll still get a few rounds of cupcakes for everyone you want to share them with!"

"Thank you, Aunt(ie) Carrie!" said the twins, who then left to get some sleep. It was already past midnight. Knowing the rules of their aunt, they had already dispersed into their respective beds after brushing their teeth and changing into night clothes.

Aunt Carrie was left behind in the dining room, checking off a list of ingredients for the cupcakes.

Her pen stopped mid-sentence and she smiled, closing her eyes. "... Those kids."


	2. Chapter 2

**HAHA! I'm surprised people are actually liking my writing lel**  
 **I'm not exactly the best at continuing a story because apparently** **all my inspiration goes into the first chapter... oops**  
 **But hey! This one is turning out pretty well! Yes, ships and stuff and stuff will come in later. (Also, I'm going to be using a lot of references in this story so if you can name them all, you are a _god_. :) )**

 **Review replies at the bottom of the story!**

 **Please make sure to follow and favorite this story if you like it and want to keep reading it! Otherwise, read the rest of what I have up on my Wattpad: CrystallizeFlower**

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"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" The sound of his raspy voice was followed by a _FLAP!_

"Ahh!" Jess shot up and pulled her blanket off. "You knucklehead!"

"Haha, the pillow always works."

She glared at him with messy hair and squinted. "Damn it, Jay, you gave me a heart attack!"

"As said by Axel: 'Nothing's fun if you're not scared half to death!'"

Jess shrugged. "True- but it's better when you're the one having fun!" She grabbed her pillow and whacked Jesse in the face, knocking him over. Then she stole his pillow and threw it at him while he was open on the floor.

"What– Hey, no fair!" laughed Jesse as he received a barrage of pillows chucked at him. "You caught me by surprise!"

"You did the same, so I don't see why I can't!" Jess laughed too and jumped off her bed, sitting on her brother. He grunted slightly and she laughed even harder. "Eat this, you bonehead!" _FWUMP!_ Another pillow to the face.

"Agh, you can stop now!" he cried, unable to stop smiling. "I surrender, I surrender! Where's my white flag?!"

"I win, haha!" She hollered out loud, falling backward and landing on her back. "That was fun."

"My legs don't agree," croaked he. "You're heavy."

"And you're skinny."

"I'm 102 pounds!"

"And I'm 110 pounds! You're a sack of bones," giggled Jess.

"Look at your thighs! You need to work off that fat!"

"They're all the better to crush my enemies with. I can just sit on them until they turn numb."

"Oh god," jokingly uttered Jesse.

A loud gasp was heard from the girl and she sat up and grabbed her phone from her nightstand. "Today's Sunday! I completely forgot!"

"We're still meeting up with Olivia and Axel, right?"

"Of course we are! We can not wait until school! They're our best friends."

The boy sat up and leaned on his hands. "What about Petra?"

"She's also super close! We've known her since we were little!"

"Man, I can't wait to see her. We never saw her last year. I wonder why."

Jess smiled. "Well, we should see her during the orientation! The juniors are going to be lined up around the gym in alphabetical order, remember? Since we'll be in the middle next to the freshman, we should be able to find her, no problem!"

"I hope so. I kinda missed her over the past year."

"You'll get to see her, don't you worry, brother!"

"Yeah. Hey, are we going to go see them now?"

"Yup! Just let me brush my teeth and stuff. You should change, too."

Jess looked at her disorderly brother, whose brown hair was a mess and baggy shirt was wrinkled. His shirt disguised his somewhat thin, tan figure. His soft emerald eyes were looking at her with amusement.

"What are you looking at? You're not much better looking than I am," grinned Jess. "Your hair looks like a bird's nest and that shirt looks like a piece of crumpled paper."

"Your hair reminds me of the time Axel shocked himself when he tried to work on Olivia's robot for the robotics tournament."

"Well, your face reminds me of a blobfish!"

"You wish you looked like me," he smiled, his teeth seeming as if they were sparkling. "Now go brush your hair and teeth."

"I'm going, I'm going!"

~*Ω*~

"Look at the dog over there, inside the sandbox!" Jesse pointed to a small area a few meters away from them. They had been casually strolling through the park when a bark captured Jesse's attention.

"Is that a dachshund riding on top of a border collie?!" Jess squealed and pulled out her Cloud to take a picture.

"I've never seen a type of border collie like that before," he said as he looked to his sister for information.

"It's mixed with a German shepherd; you can tell from the colors of the fur and the legs and muzzle."

"That's pretty cool. I wish we had a dog."

"Pigs are better," grinned Jess.

"I agree," chuckled Jesse.

After Jess snapped a few photos, they kept walking, checking their phones occasionally to see if they were on the right track. The weather was crisp and fresh; it made them feel restless and gave them an even bigger urge to get to their destination quickly.

"So... What do you think our sophomore year in Stonebrook High will be like?" Jesse inquired, wanting to make conversation as they weaved through the streets.

"I think it'll be fun! Especially if we can get with everyone and plan a fun night out." Jess smiled widely. "Maybe we'll even make new friends. Ugh, I really hope we don't get a Tower. That would be... _really_ unfortunate."

He grimaced, recalling the teachers who gave you a crap ton of homework and expected you to finish it by the next day, even if it was obvious you couldn't. Hence why the teachers were called Towers after towers of homework. "We're lucky we haven't gotten a Tower yet. If I get a Tower, I'm going to run away and take you with me."

"Ha, I wish!" She giggled and stretched her hands. "Hey, look, it's her place!"

They ran to the corner of the street, smashing the crosswalk button. When the light signaled for them to cross, they briskly made their way to the front door.

Before he rang the doorbell, Jesse smiled at Jess. She nodded at him to continue.

 _Ding, dong._

They stood on the porch for a few seconds waiting for a sound. Jesse stared at the door. "... Do you think she's—"

 _Click._ The door squeaked a little as it opened. Behind the door was a dark-skinned girl, whose complexion matched her dark hair. "Hello- Oh my gosh!"

"Hey!" grinned Jesse. "How have you been?"

The door swung open and the girl threw her arms around the siblings. "I'm so happy to see you guys! I didn't know when you guys were coming back so I was kind of worried about the first day."

They hugged her back and Jesse smirked. "Well, we were without service. But we thought it would be nice if we came and surprised you and Axel before school started."

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to see you again, Olivia! Being on the farm is fun and all, but sometimes you feel lonely," said Jess.

Olivia let go of them and she smiled in return. As she fixed her yellow beanie and two pigtails, she gestured to the house. "Well, why don't you guys come in? My mom is out, so I'm home alone."

"Where's your dad?" they asked as they took off their shoes.

"He's at work. It's Sunday, remember?"

"Ohh." The two recalled Olivia's dad working at an office, Sunday being the day he had to go due to most of the other workers out for religious service.

"You guys hungry? I have some leftover In-N-Out. If... you call two untouched cheeseburgers the size of your face leftovers. And a bag of animal fries."

"Heck yeah!" exclaimed Jesse. "We haven't had breakfast, so I'm sure a cheeseburger is better than nothing at all. I hope."

"Fries sound really good right now. Or maybe I'm just delusional from lack of food," joked Jess.

Olivia laughed and led them into the dining room. "There, in the bag." She pointed at the paper bag with the words "In-N-Out" labeled. "In all honesty, I don't know why I even have extra food. My mom just bought a bunch of stuff from In-N-Out and told me to do what I wanted."

The Jesses checked the bag, finding not two, but four cheeseburgers. Next to the bag was another bag, literally filled with animal fries.

"... She really took the words 'Treat yo' self' seriously," commented Jess.

"Right?!" said Olivia.

"Hey, Jess, first one to finish the burger gets five dollars and whoever loses has to give Olivia a back massage!" Jesse shoved her lightly to the side and grabbed a cheeseburger, glaring at her with confidence.

Jess sneered. "You're on, bonehead!"

"I like the back massage part," said Olivia, "but I'm not sure the racing part of the whole thing is safe."

The two twins had already started eating and continued to snarf down the burgers.

"I tried," she sighed.

The dark-skinned girl watched the two as they shoved the burgers into their mouths and devoured them down with a passion that would scare even professional, voracious hot-dog eaters. (Axel included.)

"I can't tell who's winning, you both are a mess!" she cried, staring in disgust at the cheese and ketchup on their faces. Some of it was even on Jess's hair. "If my mom were to walk in right now, I wouldn't be able to explain anything!"

"That's the interesting part about this!" Jesse said in-between chomps, failing at covering his mouth while eating.

"I win!" Jess jumped up and did jazz hands, confirming there was no piece left behind.

"What the hell?! I was ahead!" Jesse stood up harshly and frowned.

"You were too busy talking and it gave me the opening I needed!"

"That's some bullcrap!" Jesse pouted childishly and the sister giggled. "Better luck next time!"

Olivia just stood there, unsure what to do. "So... do I get that back massage?"

He sighed. "On the first day of school," uttered the defeated male.

~*Ω*~

The three teens were all walking along the sidewalk, chatting merrily, when Jesse brought up the topic of their favorite event:

The Endercon Building Competition.

"I think we'll win this year. I have a strong, sure feeling!" declared Jess.

"We've been losing since second grade! I don't think we'll be winning this year either!" Olivia frowned.

"A little faith, Olivia," shrugged Jesse.

"What?"

"A small sliver," Jess answered quietly, "a slice. That's all we need. Also, I'm hungry."

The other girl cringed. "You just ate that hamburger."

"To win, I meant. To win."

Jesse sighed and put his hands behind his head. "You know, maybe... we've been doing something wrong."

"What do you mean?" asked Olivia.

"Maybe we're thinking about this all wrong."

"I still don't get it."

Jess popped up like a piece of toast and clapped her hands together. "But I do! We don't just build something!" She laughed and opened her arms. "We have to do something to get noticed by the judges!"

"But... how?" Olivia muttered.

"I know!" Jesse brought his arms down and shot one up. "We build something on top of our original design!"

"Yeah, that's cool!" agreed Jess.

"But what are we building on top, then?" Olivia asked.

"You're asking too many questions," said the twins.

"Whatever. Well, we're at Axel's house now."

~*Ω*~

"Hey, pals! How 'ya been?" The large male hugged the Jesses tightly, forcing them to breathe in his sulfur, gunpowder-like smell emitting from his clothing.

"We've been just- urgh! Fine..." Jess weakly smiled. Jesse laughed awkwardly.

"Axel, have you been using those firecrackers again?" Olivia crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Hey!" Axel let go of the two and he smiled. "Anything explosive is fun."

"Better than smelling the explosives." Both Jesses coughed and fanned the smell away from them.

"Well, there's always the explosive you don't want in a room with no windows."

"Ew, gross!" Olivia cringed her face and backed away.

Jess giggled and Jesse laughed out. Axel patted himself on the back.

"So, when did you two come back to the city?" he said, smoothing out his shirt and realigning his white bandana.

"Last night," they responded in sync. "We wanted some extra time at the farm this summer."

"Hmm," nodded Axel. "Well, are you guys ready for school?"

"Yeah!" smiled Jess. "I can't wait! I also want to make some new friends. There's always people transferring into Stonebrook, and besides, there will always be new freshman students, too."

"So are you going to be the type of person who acts like a tour guide and shows them around the school?"

"Maybe. I mean, I sure was lost on the first day of school. If it weren't for Petra, I probably would have been late to all of my classes. That would've been embarrassing."

"That reminds me, Jess," her brother coughed lightly, "do you know Petra's new address? If I remember correctly, she moved."

"Oh, crap. That's right." She frowned.

"I ran into Petra during the Summer Stone event," Axel said. "She told me that she started dealing things that were normally unobtainable to people, so she couldn't share her new address."

"Dealing? What, drugs or something?" Olivia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms again.

"Of course not." He furrowed his brow together. "I mean things like limited edition Legend of Zelda 3DS's and gold toilets."

"Why would anyone so desperately need a limited edition–"

"Hush," silenced Jesse with a single finger. "Legend of Zelda is great."

"Wait, so, we can't visit Petra? Because we don't know where she lives?" Jess was staring at Axel with eyes that seemed like they just saw their childhood teddy bear run over by a car.

"N-no, we can't visit her. Sorry, Jess." He rubbed his neck awkwardly. She looked like a little child and it made him feel uncomfortable.

"Aw... I was looking forward to seeing her, too..."

"Don't worry, sis." Jesse comforted her, putting his arm around her slumped shoulders. "We're going to see her at orientation, remember? Like you told me. We'll have a clear shot at finding her. We just have to look for the letter J."

Jess nodded, determined. "That's right. We'll see her soon! I just have to wait two days. Wait, I meant three. Yes! Three days! That's not a long time!"

"That's the spirit!" cheered Jesse, who gave her a high-ten.

"Three days really is too little time," groaned Olivia. "I don't want to go back to school...!" Axel shrugged. "You're the one in AP classes. I'm still in college prep." "And that's why." "Why don't you just stop taking AP classes then?" "I need college credit..." He rolled his eyes.

Jess watched the two talk and she gasped. "Hey, Jay! We should ask Olivia and Axel if they want to help us buy ingredients for the cupcakes!" The female twin excitedly hopped up and down.

"It could be a surprise for them, too." Jesse looked at her. "Which do you prefer?"

"Hmm..." she held her chin with one hand as it was balanced on her other arm. "Actually, a surprise sounds nice."

"So...? Do we let them help us or do we make it a surprise?"

"Let's do surprise. I like seeing their astonished faces," she joked.

"Alright. Surprise it is, then."

~*Ω*~

The next two days had gone by so quickly. On Monday, the twins went out and bought some new things for themselves, such as clothes and toys. They even bought a couple of balloons which now hung in front of their porch window. (Yes, the apartment has porches.) They spent Tuesday with Olivia and Axel, simply walking through the streets of the suburban city.

By the time they came home, they were tired and decided they wouldn't be able to help Aunt Carrie with the cupcakes and went straight to their room.

"Oh man, I'm pooped." Jesse groaned and faceplanted onto his bed.

"Me too... but we should probably change and brush our teeth," said Jess.

"Fine..."

After a few minutes, both were cleaned up and ready to go to bed. Jesse simply had on a white T-shirt and boxers while Jess was wearing a plaid, purple button-up shirt and no pants on. Jesse leaped into his bed and let his bed mold to his body shape, sighing with satisfaction. Jess sat on the edge of her bed and checked her phone one last time before pulling her blankets over her.

"Don't you feel kind of hot with that shirt on? It looks a little too warm for this weather," commented Jesse, glancing at her pajama shirt.

"I know I'll regret it later, but right now it's comfortable, so whatever," she shrugged.

"Do you regret walking into that door?"

Jess scoffed and rolled her eyes. "First off, that wasn't me, that was that blonde dude in front of me who closed it as I was walking in. My face still hurts from that!"

"Your nose totally doesn't look like it's crooked."

"Wha- It's not crooked! Ugh, go to sleep."

"Ha. Goodnight, Jess." The boy wrapped himself in his blankets and exhaled softly. Quiet snoring ensued not long after.

She watched her brother with a soft look and sighed. She snuggled into her bed and closed her eyes slowly. "Goodnight, Jay."

* * *

RapidSammi - **Aww thank youuuu! I love you too lol**

Peculiar Ann - **Ngl Lukesse and Jetra are my guilty pleasure whoOps (And I updated this fanfic here on Fanfiction because you gave me enough courage to)**

FanFicitsnotovertilIsayitis - **Ooh, I think I know which art you're talking about. I did base some of it off of that art but sadly I never caught the name of the artist ;-; I'm still searching for them so I can give proper credit. A lot of artists and writers on Tumblr gave me inspiration but I didn't think to save their URLs which makes me feel dumb now. But thank you for reading this and liking my story!**

 **(if you can't tell, I like emoticons lol)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Currently working on Chapter 6 but my eye is currently stinging really bad and I reached a dead end in the chapter- too much contradictory information that no one would get until probably 10 chapters after. Welp**

 **Reformatting this chapter for this website would probably be better anyway lol**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

" _Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you..._ "

Jesse groaned and slammed his hand on his phone, turning off the alarm. The sound of Rick Astley was all too familiar.

"Don't break your phone..." mumbled Jess as she wrapped herself tighter in her blankets.

"I can't believe it's already seven," he moaned. "Ughhh..." Very sleepily, he rolled over and fell out of his bed, pulling the sheets down with him. "It's so hot... we should've brought a pair of fans in here... I don't even know how you're so comfortable under that."

"It's very hot, but I'm sleepy..."

"... Welp, I guess I'm out of bed now," Jesse grumbled, rolling away from the blankets. Sluggishly, he got up and fanned himself, dragging himself to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with cold water, bringing him to full consciousness. "Oh my god. Ugh. Why did it start to get hot on the first day of school?"

He could hear Jess muttering under the covers from the bathroom. "Because we're on our way to school."

He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Not bad, Jess. Not bad."

"Thanks," he heard before a loud _thud_ startled him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah..."

~*Ω*~

"Aunt Carrie, you really outdid yourself!" laughed Jesse. "How many are here, again?"

"Fifty," the woman smiled.

"Auntie, how much is fifty to you?" giggled Jess. "A little? A lot? Enough?"

"The right amount," she winked. "Now I need to get you two to school, hurry along. Get to the car."

"Well, we're going to need some help with the cupcakes," the two joked before scurrying off with most of the cupcakes.

~*Ω*~

They waved to their aunt before she drove off, leaving them in front of the Stonebrook High School campus with fifty cupcakes surrounding them.

"You think any of the teachers' rooms are open right now? I'm not sure the office would let us keep these there," Jess laughed.

Jesse chuckled and picked some of the boxes of cupcakes up. "Let's try Mrs. Gonzalez's class."

~*Ω*~

After asking their previous biology teacher to hold their cupcakes for them, they made their way over to the multi-purpose room, or MPR for short. The orientation for those who weren't able to attend the meeting during the summer were supposed to come before school. The doors to the building were locked. Patiently, they waited outside one of the doors and waited some more. Some more students came and waited next to the twins, obviously nervous from their little habits such as nail-biting and fiddling with the buttons on their freshly-ironed shirts. Eventually, a proctor came and opened the MPR to them. As they walked in, they saw multiple other students flooding the building through the other doors and they quickly made their way to where they were supposed to be standing- in the middle of it all.

"Still don't understand why the sophomores and freshman have to stand in the middle," Jesse shrugged as others jostled him and Jess. She also shrugged.

"Lucky seniors," muttered Jess. She eyed some of the last-year students who were sitting peacefully on the seats to the side.

"Hey, isn't that Petra over there?!" Jesse pointed off to his right excitedly and made Jess turn around as well.

"Where- Hey, it is! Let's go and say hi!"

They abandoned their spot and ran towards the auburn-haired girl whose back was facing towards them. "Petra!" they called to catch her attention. As they expected, the girl turned around and they immediately recognized the dark-colored eyes which widened upon seeing them.

"Jesse? Er- the Jesses? Wow, it's been a while."

They spent a few seconds memorizing some of her features- Petra had straight, shoulder-length auburn hair, wide dark eyes that were cryptic and mysterious, and pale skin that seemed to have never met the sun. She was wearing her usual blue and green bandana on her head and had her asymmetrical black sleeve in one arm and a fingerless glove on the other hand. Her blue vest complemented the purple sleeveless shirt underneath and her blue shorts were ripped from long-term usage. She basically looked like the school's badass without leaning towards the rebel side. (They remembered she even drove a motorcycle, too.)

"Heck yeah, it's been a while!" Jesse exclaimed. "Does 11 months sound long enough?"

"Okay, I get it, I get it!" She laughed. "How have you been?"

"We've been pretty well," Jess answered. "What about you? Where have you been and what have you been doing?"

"Heh, well..." She shrugged. "I was here for the first month of school, and then I was in the process of moving, so I didn't come for a month. After that, I took classes at home and during the summer. I also started making money by trading things to trade for more things."

"Things like limited edition Legend of Zelda 3DS's?"

"And gold toilets?" threw in Jesse.

"Who told you that?" Petra laughed. "It's true, but that's not all. I also trade things like expensive cars and minerals. Diamonds and emeralds and such."

"Where are you getting all of these things?" the siblings asked.

"I just told you, I trade things to trade for more things. Also, I make some pretty rad deals." She flashed her teeth with a small chuckle.

"Will everyone please go to their assigned places?" said a woman through the speakers.

"Oops, we gotta go back. We'll catch you later!" The Jesses waved and returned to their spot in the middle of the MPR.

Petra snickered as she thought of something. "Oh, you'll definitely cash me ousside, how bow dah?"

After all the students settled down in their respective places, the orientation continued and they received their schedules. After the orientation was finished, the Jesses met up with Petra outside and talked about their schedules.

"I have second, fourth, and fifth with Jay," Jess checked. "If I remember correctly, I should have first and second with Olivia and second and fourth with Axel."

"I think Olivia's also in my third class," glimpsed Jesse. "Axel's also in my first."

"Of course, I don't have any classes with you guys, being a junior and all." Petra coolly tossed her phone up and caught it. "But I think you guys have classes with other people who are juniors and seniors- maybe even freshman as well."

"My elective is computer design," Jess said as she scanned her schedule one last time, "which means I must have a lot of juniors and seniors in that class. Sophomores and freshman don't usually get it..."

"I have a free period instead of an elective. I wonder why?" Jesse scratched his chin.

"You might have to check with your counselor," Petra said.

"Hey, Petra, want a cupcake?" Jess suddenly asked. "We have, like, fifty and we want to give them out to our friends and maybe even some other people."

"I'm not supposed to be eating a lot of sweets, but sure. Hand me three cupcakes, please."

"Red velvet has always been your favorite," laughed Jesse.

Petra gasped dramatically and grabbed Jesse's suspenders with both hands. "Did you say red velvet? Never mind three, hook me up with ten!"

"Woah, there!" he nervously chuckled. "Didn't you just say you weren't supposed to be eating a lot of sweets?"

"Pfft, red velvet isn't a sweet. It's a blessing." She let go of him and moved some of her hair behind her ear.

"Well, we're down to forty now, I guess... Let's find Olivia and Axel!" Jess skipped away and Petra and Jesse followed.

"I haven't seen them in a while. How are they doing?" Petra asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, same old, same old. Nothing's really changed about them," Jesse shrugged.

Jess was about to say something when she walked right into some guy and they both fell over. "Oomph-!"

She rubbed her bottom gingerly and pushed herself up. "Ow... sorry about that." She helped the other guy up and observed him closely.

"Wait- you're that guy that slammed the door in my face!" She instantly let go of him as he stood up and she crossed her arms.

"I did?" The blonde awkwardly scratched his neck. "Well, um, I'm sorry?"

"Apology accepted even though it was kinda weak." She motioned for the rest of the group to keep walking.

"Who was that?" Petra muttered as they walked away.

"This guy who accidentally slammed the door closed on Jess's face when we were entering a coffee shop. She was holding her nose for a full fifteen minutes." Jesse snickered.

"Trust me, if a glass door slammed that hard on your face, you would be crying. Don't act like that wouldn't happen, Jay." She flipped her auburn hair over her shoulder.

He scoffed and mimicked her hair flip. "I'm offended."

She exaggerated the hair flip even more. "Well, I'm shook that you even attempted to mock me. You're such a girl."

" _Triggered!_ " shouted Jess, who broke into laughter. "You just assumed his gender!"

"I'm also triggered, you said 'his gender!'"

Jesse gasped loudly and held his face. "Oh no, we're all going to be caught by the Tumblr police!" They all laughed and calmed down.

"... We're so lame," Jess snickered.

"Some people will _always_ be lame," Petra snorted.

"Ha-ha," sarcastically laughed Jesse. **(A/N: Sorry not sorry)**

"Jess!" called a voice from a few feet away. Jess turned and looked for the familiar face. "Olivia, there you are! And Axel, too!"

Olivia smiled. "Hey, Petra's here too!" She hugged everyone. Axel did too, but Petra knew better.

"So what's your schedules, guys?" Olivia said.

They took a few minutes to compare their schedules and talk about the teachers they had.

Olivia frowned. "I got a Tower. How exciting."

All of the others crossed themselves and nodded grimly. "R.I.P."

"I shall be remembered with In-N-Out burgers served at my funeral."

They clapped softly. "Amen."

The girl with the beanie sighed. "At least I didn't get an AP class with a Tower."

"Amen to that, too," whispered Petra.

"... Can we also pray that those people in the leather jackets aren't walking towards us?"

They all glanced at Jess who pointed at three people a few feet away from them.

They were all actually wearing leather jackets– the male in front had a green button-up shirt under, the second male had a normal white shirt, and the girl had a red shirt with a large, blue E on it. And unfortunately, they were all heading towards the fabulous five.

"Hey, losers. What's up?" said the first male with the green shirt.

"Losers? You really want to lose that deal I made with you guys?" Petra stepped up and stood in front of the other four.

"Petra? What are you doing?" suspiciously eyed Axel. "These guys look like nothing but trouble."

"Shh, let me talk."

"You wouldn't dare after we just paid you that much," threatened the male. His sinister eyes flashed a mental insult.

"I would dare. Mind you, messing with my friends and I is not a very smart idea." She stood in a smug pose and crossed her arms. "Just ask the vice principal. He's had to deal with me multiple times."

"You're just spouting nonsense, now, Petra." He spat. "Move outta the way."

She simply stared at him unemotionally. "Nah."

He growled, irritated, and the two behind him shook their heads.

"Woah, what are you guys doing?" said another voice. It was the guy that slammed the door in Jess's face and bumped into her earlier.

"You again?" gasped Jess. Petra raised an eyebrow at him.

"No wonder you looked familiar when you knocked her over," the ginger girl said, eliciting a 'hmph' from the black-haired twin.

"So you must be Petra," the blonde said, extending his hand to shake. She grabbed it and shook it vigorously.

"I have your item. When do you need it?"

"Try tomorrow?"

"That's fine with me."

The twins and Axel and Olivia just stared at each other, unsure what was happening. They also felt slightly uncomfortable being glared at by the matching squad on the other side of Petra and the guy.

The junior noticed the awkwardness so she gestured at them. "These are my friends. I've known them for a while. Your friends were scaring them," she chuckled. The others shook their head and Olivia groaned.

"Um, hey. For the second time?" The guy waved and they all just stared at him.

"Come on, at least have the decency to introduce yourselves, guys! It's not that hard to say your name." Petra rolled her eyes.

"... I'm Jesse," started off Jess, hoping her brother would catch on. "I'm Olivia." "I'm Axel. "I'm Jesse."

"Wait, there's two Jesses?" The blonde guy furrowed his eyebrows, his cyan eyes displaying confusion.

"No, we're the only Jesse," the twins said at the same time. "Stop stealing my name!" they shouted, pointing accusatory fingers to each other.

"..." The others were silent.

"Stop playing games with the others, you two," admonished Petra. "They're both Jesse. They have the same name."

"Haha, well, that's cool. I'm Lukas." The cyan-eyed male waved and slicked some loose hair back, also straightening his matching leather jacket. He shot a glance at his friends who rolled their eyes.

"I'm Gill."

"I'm Maya."

"... And I'm Aiden," said the male with the green shirt who made a 'tch' sound slowly after.

"There. We're all acquainted." Petra smiled. "Well, it seems like class is starting in fifteen minutes. We have to go."

"Alright," nodded Lukas. "See you guys later, maybe."

The five walked away and they were silent the entire walk.

"... That was really awkward," sighed Jess.

* * *

RapidSammi - **Pretty sure nothing's wrong ;) Gold toilets are _totally_ perfect remedies**

sailor . miku chan - **Thanks! And pfft no it wasn't him at all- ( _you gave it away too early!_ lmao)**

FanFicitsnotovertilIsayitis - **oH MY GOD YOU JUST SAVED MY LIFE? THANK YE :D I edited the first chapter so credit was properly given. Thank you for telling me! (I would put a heart emoticon here but I seem to have some troubles with my keyboard... hmm)**

king kahin - **Neither can I ;D**


	4. Chapter 4

**man sometimes i feel like i'm not working enough on this bc of school**  
 **but hEY FOUR DAY WEEKEND YAY! I'll have time to work on chapter seven and maybe even do some practice art of the Jesses in their school clothes and stuff lel**

 **I may post trash art on my Wattpad but it won't be anytime soon haha**

 **Review replies at the bottom of the chapter!**

* * *

After the strange encounter with the leather jacket group, the five happily made their way over to the classroom where the cupcakes were temporarily being held. They gave Petra ten cupcakes despite their inner voices screaming, "DON'T DO IT!" Olivia received two and Axel took five, leaving them with 33 cupcakes. Both Jesses took one each, so that left them with 31.

"What are you guys going to do with all the extra cupcakes?" Axel asked in between gulps. "Could you, I don't know, cover your mouth as you talk?" Olivia asked sarcastically.

Jesse looked at his sister and they shrugged. "Originally we wanted to just pass them out to friends and stuff, but we might have to start randomly passing them out to people."

"Let's start early, then," Petra said as she shoved her seventh cupcake into her mouth.

Jess sweatdropped. "You might want to slow down before you start inhaling the 'cakes instead..."

~*Ω*~

They started passing out the cupcakes to random people who walked by them and eventually were down to ten in ten minutes.

"Coincidence? I think not," Jess smiled.

Another person walked by and they gave them a cupcake. They ate it happily.

"Who made these, by the way?" asked Olivia.

"Aunt Carrie," said the two siblings. Petra nodded in satisfaction. "I knew it. She makes the best cupcakes for miles around." Axel suddenly stiffened and he started to look around in a panic. "Shoot, I forgot! I gotta run, I'll see you guys later in class!" He ran off and left the others behind in a cloud of bewilderment.

"... What?" said Petra. The rest just shrugged. "No idea."

They gave away five more cupcakes and soon they were down to the last four.

"Man," Jess sighed, "I can't wait until these are gone. My first class is gonna be a pain if I'm late."

"You have ten minutes. That's plenty of time to give away four cupcakes and get to class," Olivia said.

Jesse shrugged with one shoulder. "My class is nearby, so I'm okay."

"Cupcakes?"

They turned and saw the black jackets, instantly recognizing the voice.

"Hello... Lukas," bitterly smirked Jess. She was feeling somewhat petty about the door and the run-in. "What a surprise." Jesse noticed her change in tone and he eyed Lukas questionably. Olivia also crossed her arms and stared at Lukas to make him uncomfortable. Petra didn't seem to notice these changes in atmosphere and greeted him instead.

"Hey, Lukas. Want a cupcake?"

"Sure. Cupcakes sound good."

"You're in luck, there's four left- one for each of you."

The Jesses and Olivia hadn't forgotten about the other three either. They had been exchanging smirks and glares as Petra gave them a cupcake.

"You're lucky I'm not making you pay for these," joked the pale girl. She checked her watch and sighed. "I gotta get to class. I'll see you all later." Petra walked off and weaved through the crowd of students.

After Lukas watched Petra leave, he turned his head to the three. "Hey, if you're cool with Petra, you're cool with us. So why don't we just put the horrible introduction behind us and... start over?"

"We'll think about it, but we can't guarantee we won't dislike you," Jess started. Jesse nodded in agreement, putting his hands on his hips. "We don't really like people who hurt other people... or pigs. Come on, guys. Let's go." The three turned their backs to the gang and made their way to their classes.

"... Hurt pigs?"

~*Ω*~

First period was a blast for both Jesses. _Not._ AP US History for Jess and Olivia was more intimidating than it was supposed to be. On top of that, they were assigned homework, which was "reading the first 100 pages of their history textbook before Monday." Fun.

For Jay and Axel, it was explosively unforgettable. Axel mixed too much of the catalyst into their reactant and the beaker they were using burst apart, shattering into small pieces. Their chemistry teacher reprimanded them sternly and they apologized, embarrassment catching up to their cheeks.

During second period, the group was all lucky to have each other in the same class for English. They agreed it made their life simpler as the class was filled with complete idiots who only fooled around despite it being an honors class.

Third period was normal for everyone, but Jess lost her screw and bolt when she got to her next class.

 _Nope. Not even going to look in that general direction,_ she thought, instantly hiding her face and turning. _They can't be here. They shouldn't be here. I thought this was a women's choir!_

She chose a random seat within the other girls who were all conversing and chatting as if they knew each other for years. Jess still refused to turn around.

 _Was my schedule not changed? Or did it change last second?_

"Oh, hello, Jesse!" approached the kind choir director. He smiled brightly at her and waved. She waved back. "I took matters into my own hands and told the higher-uppers to change chamber choir to third period. Now you can be where you belong and not just in a normal women's choir!"

"Ah- um, thank you. I didn't think I was worth changing the time of an entire class," she smiled warmly, a giggle emitting from her lips. She tried her best to look modest and happy despite who she saw on the other side of the room. "So, how many boys are in chambers?"

The choir director tapped his chin and thought for a bit. "Hmm... there are six boys. But that's alright, seeing as they're very powerful singers."

"What are we going to do today?"

"Glad you asked," he laughed. "We're just going to get to know each other and what the requirements for being in this class are."

"Huh. Okay. Well, thank you for the whole schedule thing."

"No problem. By the way, I ran into your twin earlier today. You two really do look similar." He winked and walked to the front of the class. She rolled her eyes with a smirk and faced forward, ready to pay attention.

The tardy bell rang, marking the start of class. The choir teacher clapped his hands and smiled, gesturing fancifully at his whiteboard. "Hello and welcome to Chamber Choir 2016! Let's talk about the standards you are required to uphold before we get into the fun stuff..."

He went on about how students were to pay attention, act properly, and so on, so forth. He repeated the basic principles of choir that most choir students knew. Then he talked about what actions would get students kicked out of the class, which frightened the girl next to Jess who started to bite her fingernails. She moved her chair slightly to bring a little more distance between them.

"Now let's talk about the things you'll get to do in Chambers! This year, we're going to sing at Disneyland and multiple other parks and events!" The students perked up and cheered on hearing the word 'Disneyland.' "We'll also enter a competition and if we win, we'll get to perform at Endercon's Building Competition display before the builds are judged!"

As soon as Endercon was mentioned, everyone went wild and hooted, clapping while cheering again. The choir teacher smiled in response to the positive reaction and gestured for them to simmer down.

"However, we won't be able to do any of that if we don't practice hard! In order to practice well, we also have to get to know each other, so today will be dedicated to playing games." A couple of the boys slapped each others' hands and grinned. "I'll give you all a few minutes to talk before we start. Better warm up to each other before we start. Whoever wins, in the end, gets pizza," he chuckled.

Some people were immediately snatched by the others adjacent to them. The rest sat awkwardly in their seats and fidgeted with their things. Jess looked around her. Who could she introduce herself to? Everyone around her seemed occupied with someone else. The guys were easily mixing in together- except one.

The one person she had been trying to avoid.

Ughhhh.

He noticed her apathetic glance and he rubbed his neck awkwardly. Standing up, he casually walked over to her and sat in a chair in front of her. "...Hey."

"I don't want to talk to you. Much less even be near you." She crinkled her nose.

"L-look, I don't know why you don't like me exactly, but I just want to be friends. Can we do that?"

She crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air.

He sighed. "Well- maybe... Okay, how about this. If you talk to me in this class, I'll buy you a full pizza."

She huffed. "What size?"

"Medium."

"No thanks."

"Okay, then what about large?"

"Nah."

"Extra large...?"

"Deal. So, what do you want me to talk to you about?"

"Hm. Tell me about yourself."

"You know plenty, Lukas."

Lukas sighed. "Well, tell me more. Like, about yourself or what you like to do as a hobby."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm a sophomore. I like reading."

There was a bit of silence between them before he spoke up. "... Is that all?"

"Yes."

He facepalmed and sighed. "Okay then, I guess I'll talk about myself. My name is Lukas Porter, and I'm a junior. I like cats and that's why my group is named 'Ocelots.' Reading is cool. I'm okay with school, I guess. I try to be a good friend and an even better builder. Ice lakes are things I find scary. And-" He stopped short when he realized Jesse hadn't been listening and was staring at her Cloud in her hands. "Jesse? ...You're Jesse, right? Hey, you should probably put that away."

Jess winced at him. She put her phone into sleep mode and slid it into her backpack. "...So, you're new to this school, right?"

He blinked and nodded. "Uh, yeah, I am. I don't really know anybody here except for the other Ocelots. I don't know Petra that much either..."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're lucky Petra is nice to you, Porter. That's the only reason why I'm being nice to you right now other than the pizza deal. But if any of you or your dickhead friends do anything stupid to her or any of my friends–" she smirked and an evil glint ignited in her eyes- "I will find you all and ruin the rest of your school life."

He backed up, hands held up defensively. It was obvious he was a little disturbed by the slightly shorter girl. "Wait- what, no, I would never do anything to hurt you guys!"

"Your 'friends' speak otherwise," she spat, crossing her arms again.

"They're just trying to mess with your head," he waved off, "don't pay attention to them."

"Kind of hard for me, seeing as your friend... what was his name... was the one who purposely set my pet on fire."

Lukas stopped what he was doing and his eyes widened. "Woah, wait. What? Who?"

"... Ah! Aiden. That one. A few years ago, he tried to sabotage an opportunity my friends and I could have gotten by making a distraction. He thought setting my pig's costume on fire would be funny. Obviously, it wasn't, because he got scared and he got hit by a car and died when he ran outside."

"Oh. Oh! Oh my gosh, I- I didn't know he did that! I'm so sorry, Jesse..."

"No amount of 'I'm so sorry' will bring Reuben back to us, Porter. Our best friend is gone. That's all."

He fidgeted with his jacket cuffs and looked at her. "You know, you can just call me Lukas and not by my last name..."

Jess snorted. "You don't deserve the familiarity yet."

He flinched and stared at her. "Oh... Alright. But is it okay if I have your number?"

She scoffed and swatted at him, a centimeter away from hitting his face. "Of course not!"

"Ahh, okay, okay, I get it!" He stopped her violent fit and sighed. "Well, I want to make it up to you, the whole Aiden incident. Even if I didn't do anything, I'm still going to help you. If you need anything, just call me."

He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a mix of numbers on it. Handing it to her, he stood up and returned to his seat.

Jess fiddled with the scrap of paper and stared at it. After a long, hard moment of thinking, she stood up and threw the paper away into the trash.

* * *

RapidSammi: **nya~ I don't think Lukas could be a wild cat, honestly haha. He'd probably be a house cat who gets the occasional walk through the city**

Lucykillrcassie: **I LOVE _Lukesse_ and _Jetra_ with all my heart (and I do like the occasional F!JessexAiden ship but I'm not sure about Cassie and M!Jesse lol)**


	5. Chapter 5

**okay this was the busiest four-day weekend I've ever had in my life holy macaroni**

 **like I don't even remember what I was going to do for Chapter 8 but it was supposed to be really good? i don't know just read the chapter and enjoy I guess lol**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

In math, Jess spilled out her frustration about having Lukas in her choir class and told Jesse and Axel everything that happened. They nodded and threw in their two cents about the blonde and they all came to one conclusion: Lukas was arrogant.

Axel asked about the slip of paper he handed to Jess and she immediately shot down the idea of calling him.

"He's not going to get any mercy from me," she said. Jesse agreed.

"Aw, man. I wish we kept it so we could prank call him," said Axel.

Jesse looked at his sister and she returned the look. That wasn't such a bad idea.

~*Ω*~

Physical Education class came around the corner faster than a bull chasing after red flags. And it was strenuous. The twins kept up with their teacher's exercises, but barely.

When it was all over, they met up in front of the locker rooms, back in their normal clothes.

As the sweat rolled down their faces, they nodded to walk away. "Never again," they both agreed.

~*Ω*~

Lunch was a beautiful thing. Especially when Jesse was able to get an empty table and save it for everyone in the group.

Jess and Axel raced to the lunch line, and Olivia strayed behind, struggling to keep up.

"You... guys! I can't catch up to you two when you're going full out Sonic the hedgehog on me!" The dark-skinned girl stopped and put her hands on her knees, panting heavily.

"Sorry, Liv!" Jess stopped suddenly and waited for her friend to catch up. Axel grunted when he noticed who was coming their way.

"Look, it's Lukas and the Ocelots again. Let's not stay here any longer than we have to."

Jess groaned and gestured for Olivia to hurry. They continued walking to the punch line, trying to avoid the four who somehow were surrounded by girls who all wanted a picture with the Ocelots.

"Buncha' famous little rats, aren't they?" hissed Jess. Axel crossed his arms.

"I don't get why all those girls are obsessed with Aiden and Lukas. They're not heroes who defeated evil with their good looks," frowned Olivia.

"Don't even indirectly call them good-looking," Axel ordered. Jess gagged. "Every time I look at them I feel like I just glanced upon the main landfill of hell."

"Let's just get food," Olivia sighed.

~*Ω*~

The three sat at the table as they waited for Jesse to get his food. Axel was snarfing down his burger and Olivia was poking at her lasagna with a plastic fork. Jess glared at her chicken and rice burrito as if it had personally offended her. Olivia glossed her eyes over Jess.

"Jesse, are you okay? You haven't touched your food at all. And you love the burrito." Jess looked up to see the pig-tailed girl watching her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... ever since we ran into those jerk Ocelots, I haven't been able to keep my mind off Reuben and how angry the whole ordeal makes me." She groaned loudly in frustration, unable to hold it in.

"Axel, can I punch you?" the raven-haired girl asked.

"Go all out," said the large male.

Jess wound her arm back and clenched her fist tight. Furrowing her brow, she screamed as she released all the tension into this one swing. A large _FWUMP!_ sound deafened out everything else as she made contact with Axel's shoulder and she gasped as he fell off the bench and onto the floor.

Both Olivia and Axel himself were in shock and Jess stared at her hand.

Axel held his shoulder gingerly and winced, biting his tongue as he smiled. "You've gotten way stronger, Jesse."

She smiled back at him and helped him up.

~*Ω*~

"Lukas? Yo, Lukas! Dude, are you okay?"

The blonde blinked as he snapped back to reality and found himself sitting at a table with his group. His hand had been mechanically bringing his food to his face in four-second intervals and he had been chewing but not swallowing. Swallowing his thoroughly chewed food, he chuckled awkwardly and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

The brown-haired male next to him stared at him with slit eyes. "Bro, you're obviously not."

"But I'm perfectly normal right now."

The brown-haired boy sighed in an exaggerated fashion and he closed his eyes, covering his bright green irises. His hand on his forehead was enough for Lukas to realize he said the wrong thing.

"You know what I'm talking about! What kind of guy bites into the side of a hot dog first?!" He pointed at Lukas's food, confirming that Lukas did indeed eat from the middle.

"Some... people enjoy it like that, Aiden," the cyan-eyed boy replied.

"Uh, yeah, but those people are not in this group," Aiden said with an eye roll. "Seriously, man, what's going on? You've been acting distracted since the bell rang for school to start."

"Nothing. I'm just... thinking."

Aiden huffed, blowing air out of his nose. "Huh, well, this 'thinking' of yours better not get in the way of our plans."

"I won't let it happen, don't worry."

"Hold the damn hot dog correctly!"

"Ah- DAMN IT!"

~*Ω*~

"Computer Graphics class," muttered Jess to herself. "Hm. I wonder if Olivia would have fun in this class."

Jostling through a few people to get to her class, she opened the door and waved at the teacher before finding a cozy spot in the corner of the class to sit in. She couldn't help but admire the classroom- there were computers at every seat and there was even a backroom with more tech stuff. Next to where the teacher was sitting was an actual 3D printer. How cool was that?! She wouldn't be able to use it, though, as she wasn't in an AutoCAD or SketchUp group.

There were some others sitting across the room who also had the same idea of getting a corner to sit in and were also looking around. Jess waved at one of them and they awkwardly waved back.

Soon, more and more people came in and she lost count. There seemed to be at least 30 people already in the room- how much more were in her class?

Giving up on watching the people flood the classroom, she turned to look at her computer. It wasn't on, so the monitor simply reflected Jess's blurry face.

 _Oh, my hair clip_ , she thought. Fixing the yellow clip, she rearranged her bangs so it didn't move. There we go.

Jess stared at the clip in her reflection. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really know where she got the clip from. It had always been on her hair since the start. Did her parents give it to her? No, that couldn't have been it. She remembered her mom talking about it, saying, "I wish whoever gave you that hairclip also gave me one!" Her dad didn't really care about hair products. Then who else could have given it to her? Was it Jay? Probably not. It definitely wasn't Olivia and Axel as she had it on before she met them. Did Petra give it to her? Then again, why would Petra have a hairclip on her? They had known each other since Jess was born but it probably wasn't her.

She tapped her chin and stared at her reflection who stared back with blurry eyes. Meh, maybe she found it somewhere and just decided to wear it. That seemed like the most logical situation.

From spacing out about her hairclip, she hadn't realized that the entire class was full and there were people sitting to her left, watching her glare at herself on the monitor.

"Hey, aren't you the girl that was with Petra?"

She twitched and turned her head to her left, a deep growl rumbling from her throat.

"Yes... why is it your problem, Ocelot?"

"Please... the name's Aiden. Aiden Mercer. And it's my problem because you were getting in the way of things."

"Oh, if you call that 'interrupting' then wait 'til you see my brother and me in action."

"Is that a threat, flatbread?"

"Pfft, not at all... And flatbread isn't very creative, Mercer."

"Flatbread fits you perfectly. Just look at your chest."

Jess's eye twitched violently but she kept up her act. "Oh? I have a flat chest? Whatever happened to your ass then? Or your IQ?"

She laughed and shook her head. "I can't believe it. I'm joking around with the guy that basically killed my pig. _What a lovely story!_ "

"What happened to your pig wasn't my fault. You should have been watching over it."

Her laugh instantly transformed into a wicked maniac type of giggle and she glared at him, dramatic shadows cast on her face. Her eyes screamed " _PSYCHOPATH!_ " and her smile contorted into a fierce toothy smirk. Lines on her face showed how much she was struggling to keep it within her.

"Listen, Mercer... I don't know when- I don't know how- but some day, far in the future, when you're least expecting it... _we WILL get our revenge._ "

The green-eyed boy flinched and he slightly backed up, creeped out at how quickly Jess was able to turn into a monster. Honestly, it was _terrifying_. She had gone from 0 - 100 real quick.

She went back down to zero and started giggling like a normal high school girl again. "Hopefully the teacher will show us how to erase things and mask it as if it was never there in the first place! My Photoshop skills are a little rusty..."

Aiden snarled. This little girl shouldn't be able to scare him. He was the boss of things around here when Lukas wasn't. He and his group won the Endercon Building Competition nine times in a row already. He was strong and could pick up Jess and break her into two with _both hands tied_. Why was he worried? She couldn't do anything to him.

"Hey, Aiden. Took me a while to find the class after Maya and Gill dragged me with them."

He turned and saw the leader of the Ocelots grabbing a swivel chair and sitting next to him. "Hey, Lukas. Guess who I'm sitting next to?"

"Who- _oh_." Lukas looked over Aiden's shoulder and stopped when he saw the yellow hair clip.

"Hello, Porter. Nice day we're having, right?"

She flashed her canine teeth and her eyes narrowed.

Aiden fixed his hair. "Yup. I'm sitting next to _the loser_."

 _A loser who will eventually win the chance to meet Gabriel_ , thought Jess as she scoffed. _It's only one hour with them... You'll be fine._

She sighed and turned to face her computer as the teacher brought up a slideshow.

~*Ω*~

Jesse sat outside, working on his APUSH homework. Why had he even bothered? He should have just gone with World History or something. But too late. Hey, at least Olivia was in that class with him.

He checked the time on his phone. There was still forty minutes left before seventh period.

Having a free period was cool and all, but it was pretty boring. Especially when you didn't know any juniors or seniors with the same free period.

He should have checked Petra's schedule despite her "We won't have the same schedule" thing.

He dug his face back into his APUSH workbook and sighed.

Maybe if he called Petra she would come?

It didn't hurt to try. Hopefully, she wasn't in class.

He pulled out his Cloud and pressed Petra's name in his favorites list. Listening to the rings, he waited for her to pick up.

" _... Hey, Jace._ "

He laughed. "Jace? I totally forgot about that nickname."

" _Yeah, I use Jay more often but Jace is still cool, right?_ "

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, are you in your free period right now?"

" _I am. Are you? I was wondering why you were calling me during class time._ "

"Yes, I am in free period right now but I called you to see if you could come over to my table and maybe we could chat and stuff as I do homework."

" _Homework on the first day? That's rough. Anyway, I'll be there in just a bit. You're sitting in the quad, I'm guessing?_ "

"Yup! I'll talk to you when you get here."

" _Alright. Bye_."

She hung up on him. He put away his phone and tried to do his homework again but couldn't. He was so distracted.

Petra was going to talk alone with him again, just like the good old days.

~*Ω*~

"Big History is easy, Jesse, and you won't have any other Ocelots with you." The forest-eyed girl sighed. "No more Ocelots for the day. Right?"

Her face was plastered with a crooked smile as she walked into the classroom. No sign of any leather jackets. Good.

A genuine smile on her face now, she chose a seat in the corner again and she waited for the tardy bell to ring. Big History was always one of her favorite subjects, seeing as it talked about the Big Bang and how Earth eventually evolved. Nothing could ruin this class for her.

Except for a brown-haired, green-eyed, egotistical male walking into her classroom.

 _Please tell me it's just an illusion_.

The male noticed Jess and frowned.

 _It's not an illusion. Damn it._

Her class was ruined.

~*Ω*~

More studying for Jesse. Yay.

The boy with the tousled brown hair yawned. He had already been doing his homework for an hour (with Petra's assistance, which was very helpful) and now he had to do it all over again.

It wasn't the fact that he had two extra hours to do his homework that got him tired, it was the fact that he was still even in school. It was tedious and boring. He was seriously wishing the counselors had just given him the elective he chose last year.

As he walked into the classroom, half the students were already there. He didn't even have to walk into the classroom to know; he could hear them from outside. The teacher was somehow reading a book as if the other students were never there. He envied people who could read in loud places.

Jesse chose a random spot to sit and pulled out his chemistry homework. As he looked at the worksheets, he sighed and whispered to himself, "Thank you, study hall, for at least being a class that has a teacher."

Study hall. That was Jesse's seventh and last class. The class that most kids wanted to get with no homework and possible Mario-kart gameplay.

He watched the other guys who all had 3DS's out and were trading Pokémon and fighting the Elite Four. Multiple other people were peeking over their shoulders, wanting to see the action.

A bag dropping onto his table brought his attention back, and he looked at the backpack with curiosity.

"What's up, _Jesse Ryder?_ "

Jesse bit his lip as he made eye contact with Lukas Porter.

He seemed to be everywhere- and that wasn't a good thing for the Jesses.

* * *

lucykillrcassie - **omg no i didn't mean it that way ;~; i meant i like the ship but it's not one that i would write about ehehe**

RapidSammi - **Oh, I'm really sorry about future chapters then whoOps there's going to be a lot of tension and dislike distributed evenly within all the Ocelots and not just Aiden**

kingkahin99 - **You're welcome! and hmm I don't really have a favorite book series because I read a lot and I am really indecisive xD But some of the book series I've read are ones that will always stay in my heart :) As for character(s), it would be the same thing. I can't choose lol [Also try not to send a bunch of reviews next time, please]**


	6. Chapter 6

**I've been sick since the 26th of February and honestly, it had ruined my life ;v; I felt like crap and my nose was super congested but hey at least I started Chapter 8 when I couldn't sleep even though it hurt every time i coughed. I'm much better now, and hopefully I'll be 100% by Wednesday! Also SPRING BREAK!**

 **(Note: oMG I'M SORRY I THOUGHT I POSTED THIS WHICH IS WHY NOTHING HAS BEEN POSTED FOR A WHILE BUT APPARENTLY I NEVER DID)**

 **Hopefully, everyone's day is better than my previous ones once they finish this chapter!**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"And just why are you referring to me by my full name...?"

"It sounds cool." The cyan-eyed boy shrugged. "My name doesn't sound as exciting."

The emerald-eyed boy squinted, glaring daggers at the male sitting opposite him. He snarled in a cynical way. "I'm sure the name 'Lukas Porter' brings plenty of excitement to all."

"Is that a good thing?"

"However one wants to interpret it."

The blond junior stared at his hands for a little bit before speaking up again. "... I'm pretty sure your sister has a strong dislike for the Ocelots and me. I'm still not sure exactly why, but... I know it had something to do with a pig and Aiden."

"Oh, heck yeah, she doesn't like you. And I have the same amount of hate she does; maybe even more." Jesse smiled as condescending as possible (which was strange because he wasn't really using it in the correct form).

Lukas frowned slightly and his brow scrunched together slightly. "But can I ask how exactly?"

"How Aiden did all that? Sure. We were at the Endercon Build Display when we ran into Gabriel under disguise. We struck up a friendly conversation with him but we still didn't know he was the Warrior. Then he revealed himself and gave us an exclusive chance to go with him to Europe as a fun trip. I guess Aiden was nearby or something because he overheard us talking and got jealous. When no one was looking, he broke one of the builds and let loose a bunch of gasoline on the floor which all spilled onto Reuben. Sparks from the machine set Reuben's costume on fire and he got scared and ran outside. My sis and I ran after him but it was too late. Reuben was already hit by a car and the driver left before anyone could catch their license plate. So yeah. Aiden is a bundle of joy."

Lukas could only blink as his gaping mouth was stuck open. "O-Oh... Wow. I'm really sorry for you and your sister. But I didn't have anything to do with it, so I'm fine, right?"

Jesse stared at him and made a 'what' face. "Wait- you think we can just trust you like that? No way, dude. We trusted Aiden at one point and look what he did just because he was jealous." He crossed his arms and shook his head. "We're not trusting any of you."

"Well, I'm not Aiden, so feel free to 'trust' me anytime," smirked Lukas. He pulled out some work from his backpack and started to write.

Jesse snorted. "Arrogant jerk."

"What did you say?" asked Lukas with raised eyebrows.

"Hm? What? I didn't say anything," Jesse said. Lukas shrugged and went back to work.

 _Hmm... maybe this period can be more than studying and homework_ , the emerald-eyed male thought.

~*Ω*~

FINALLY! Jess was out of school and away from that stupid Aiden the Ocelot jerk and his stupid hair and stupid face. And don't forget his stupid eyes and stupid voice and stupid eyebrows and–

 _Okay, Jess, you're getting off-track_ , she thought. _You can't hate him that much if he's friends with a naive blond guy._

She snorted after thinking that. There was always time to be hating on friends of naive blond guys. At least, ones who deserved the hate.

She started walking down the hallway of the building, reminding herself to wait for her brother at his last classroom. He always took forever cleaning up.

After passing many people and almost tripping on a foot someone extended ( _Rude_ , she thought), the door to Jay's last classroom stood in front of her. With a smirk, she opened the door.

And there her brother was, sitting in front of a table with the one, the only...

Blond guy.

Yay.

"What are you doing with _him_?" she sneered. Jesse looked at his female reflection and gave her a look.

"Gathering information."

Lukas whipped his head around and looked at Jess and then back at Jesse. "Gathering information? What the-"

"Sorry, man. I'm out. Hope to see you never," waved Jesse before he grabbed his stuff and walked out with Jess, leaving a hurt Lukas in confusion.

Jess glanced at her twin from the corner of her eyes and smirked. "Smart thinking. I was too angry at him to even think of asking him questions."

"I got your back, Jess." He smiled at her and she returned it. With a sense of accomplishment, they bumped their fists together and started walking home to Aunt Carrie's.

~*Ω*~

"Tell me everything he said," Jess said as she threw her backpack onto her bed. "I'm going to need it all to be able to avoid him efficiently."

Jesse laughed. "Of course you would. Luckily, I unlocked my inner twin sister so I could more thoroughly get information."

"Why, thank you," curtseyed Jess with a giggle.

"Well, first off, Porter is an arrogant bastard, if that wasn't obvious already. He thinks just because he wasn't responsible for what happened to Reuben that we can trust him. Girls always follow him everywhere he goes, so luckily for us, we don't have to look for him to avoid him. He's won some sort of contest nine years in a row with the rest of the Ocelots. Umm... OH! I did some background digging on Porter and apparently, he was this _huge_ theater nerd. He had a cowboy hat on and a black vest instead of his leather jacket!"

Jess covered her mouth and tried not to release too much energy. "Haha! A cool boy like him as a theater nerd. Pfft. That's hilarious."

"Theater nerds are cool but _Porter_? Oh my gosh," Jesse laughed as he slapped his knee.

She wiped some tears away from her eyes and tried to calm down before asking him anything else. "Well, what about Aiden? Aiden Mercer?"

"Blegh, I don't even want to say his name."

"I know right," gagged Jess. "Saying his name made my tongue taste like kale cereal."

"Gross. Anyway, he's been friends with Porter for... what? Since first or second grade? Same goes to all the other Ocelots. According to Porter, 'Aiden is just misunderstood.' Misunderstood, my butt."

"Same."

"That's all I have on them for now. I don't know much about the other two Ocelots other than their names, which you know, too."

She sighed. "Well, we don't have any homework today, right?"

"Well, I have APUSH homework but it's not due until next Friday."

"Lucky. I have to read a hundred pages before this Friday. Anyway, let's forget homework for now and, oh, I don't know, send _LukasPorter__ on Instagram a few messages."

Jesse gasped dramatically and grabbed his phone. "I'm so in."

Jess laughed and pulled out her phone as well. She went and sat next to him on his bed. "Dork."

Using their fake accounts, they went through Lukas's account and read the comments under his one uploaded picture. ( _One photo and 6,000 followers? He must be buying them or something_ , Jesse commented.)

The picture was an old polaroid photo of him as a child, about four or five years old, and another little girl who had black hair and was wearing a cute red dress. Her eyes were closed so the siblings could not tell what her eye color was. In the background was a tuft of brown hair behind Lukas's head and a playground with some other kids.

They read through his comments. Most of them were from his fans in the form of heart emojis and kisses. They kept searching for good things in the 1,542 comments.

After a while, they found something somewhat interesting. One person had commented, "Who's that girl with u in the pic?" and Lukas had replied, "My best friend I had back in preschool. I haven't seen her since kindergarten."

"Maybe we can DM Porter about this girl?" wondered Jess out loud.

"We can, but we're going to need more dirt," Jesse decided. They nodded and went back to lurking- I mean, researching.

"Aha!" exclaimed Jesse after a few minutes. "Here we go..."

He read out the question asked by a friend of Lukas's and then continued with the answer. "So, what's something you regret doing? I don't think there is anything, knowing you, my man." "One time I was trying to run away from one of my friends since we were playing tag and I fell and accidentally bumped into the girl in this picture. She started laughing and we all played tag but then that same day, I learned my dad was moving to be closer to his work area. I couldn't stay with my mom as she didn't have enough money and so I changed schools but I never told the girl anything about where I went and why I wouldn't go to school with her anymore. I really regret that as now we've lost all connection and I'm sure she doesn't remember me."

Jess gently grabbed his phone and read the replies after that. "Have you ever seen her after that?" "No, but I'm moving back to Stonebrook. I've kind of given up on looking for her, and I'm pretty sure she's not going to the same school I'm transferring to, so yeah."

"So, he used to live in Stonebrook and then moved in kindergarten. He still remembers this girl and moved back to Stonebrook. He stopped looking for her." Jesse summarized. He crossed his arms and tapped his chin. "Huh."

"Why's he so attached to this girl, though? It's not like the him now can get a genuine girlfriend," she snorted. "Everybody now only loves him for his good looks and his squad."

"We need to find what the name of this girl is! We have to know!"

"Why? And, well, he keeps referring to her as 'girl,' so I don't think we can find out here. The only way to learn who she is will have to be through him in person or in private."

"We need to know so we can find this girl and keep her away from him. I'm pretty sure little Porter was an angel but now he's nothing like what he probably used to be." Jesse looked at his sister expectantly. "Can we start messaging him now?"

"Yeah, sure. Just use a good reason for asking him. And... can I ask why you're so determined to keep this girl away from high school Porter?"

"I don't know, to be honest. I just have this feeling in my stomach that moves as if I knew him when I was young. Like deja vu or something. I'm not sure, even though I know we didn't meet him when we were small." He started a new conversation with Lukas and started it with " _Hey, you seem like a pretty cool dude. I see you around school sometimes but I don't have classes with you_."

Fortunately for Jesse, Lukas immediately replied back and said, " _That's cool. Can I ask who you are?_ "

"Go with the usual name?" Jesse asked the raven-haired girl.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm sure Dad and Mom wouldn't mind."

" _I'm Chris Blair._ "

" _Cool name._ "

" _Thanks. Hey, I saw there was a girl in that photo with you. What's her name?_ "

" _I would tell you but I'm sure a lot of trouble would ensue. Sorry, man._ "

" _It's alright. Thanks for talking._ "

" _No problem._ "

Jess held her chin. "I wonder what kind of trouble."

"Who knows? Man, this sounds like it's more complicated than it should be." Jesse put his hand up to his forehead and rubbed his temple.

"You know, if we want to be nosy and find out more about Porter's childhood, we could always call him and disguise our voices with that voice changer we have."

He looked at the girl. "We don't have his number- and you threw the paper away, remember?"

"I did, but I memorized it in case we needed to... set him up over the phone, you know?"

"We sound like criminals..." he sighed.

"We are partners-in-crime," she winked. Jesse rolled his eyes, a smirk lifting the corners of his mouth.

He put his phone down on his bed and chuckled. "We'll call him when we need to. Now is not the time for that."

A ding and a small vibration came from his phone. Jesse picked the phone back up and looked at the notification.

 _Olivia: Hey, you forgot to give me my back massage lol_

He blinked and gritted his teeth. "Oops."

Jess raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "What up?" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly upon hearing her voice. "Well... I forgot about the burger race and Olivia's massage."

She laughed and clapped his back with one hand, causing him to lurch forward and almost fall off his bed. "I guess we both were too focused on Porter to remember anything. And the fact that we spent THREE HOURS ON THIS?!"

They both freaked out and got ready to work on their homework, closing every window and door that was open in their room.

"Note to selves: Pigs are still better than cats," they both said simultaneously as they whipped books and started reading.

* * *

RapidSammi - **Oh, he _definitely_ will ;)**

kingkahin99 - **That's okay! :)**

lucykillrcassie **\- well i can't say haha and he learned because the teacher was taking roll and he saw jesse's last name lol**


	7. Chapter 7

**Soooo...**

 **because I felt bad for not uploading when I originally planned to, I decided to upload another chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

After kissing Aunt Carrie goodbye, the two started off towards school again. Usually, they took the bus at 6:40 and got to school around 7:00 but today, it was late.

It didn't help that it was hotter than the devil's armpit.

"Oh man," panted Jesse, "are we ever going to see the light after today?"

Jess shook her head weakly and collapsed onto the olive green bench. "We're lucky it's still early morning... Just imagine noon."

"Don't even let me think about it."

She suddenly pushed herself off the bench and stood up, back hunched. "Even the bench is hot..."

"You probably shouldn't stand next to me then," he crookedly smirked. She just rolled her eyes and wiped her forehead. "Shut up."

Jesse checked his phone and sighed. "6:55."

Jess just groaned super loudly and fanned herself.

Jesse's hands started to lose a grip on his phone from all the sweat on his hands, so he slid the small Cloud back into his pocket. With a huff and a sigh, he looked at his sister. "How many degrees do you think it is?"

She just looked at him back and shrugged. "Maybe 89 degrees? 92? Knowing California, it's probably 92." **(A/N: Yes, they live in California :D)**

"Probably is," he nodded before wiping some sweat from his neck. He was jealous of Jess- she got all the sweat on her forehead and nose while he got it on his back, neck, and underside of the chin. No wonder all his shirts smelled so bad.

"Oh my _gosh_ , there's the damn bus!" she suddenly exclaimed while pointing down the street. He craned his neck to look past her and he shouted in joyous relief.

"YEEESSSSS!"

~*Ω*~

"Do we really want a table right now? It's _sooo_ hot, I'd rather just be inside," Jesse said.

"Well, we gotta have a spot to sit in the mornings... Besides, I think people are going to fill up the classrooms because of the heat, which will make it hotter even with the AC on." Jess threw her backpack onto one of the tables in the quad and sat down, slouching.

"It'll be hot either way, Jess. But inside with everyone else will still be cooler than out here."

She rested her head on the table and sighed. "You do you. I'll just... stay out here..." Her eyes started to close slowly and Jesse shook his head.

"Don't overheat, sis. I don't want you to faint when I'm not here to catch you."

"Jay, I'll be fine... If need be, I can be cooled down in the nurse's office." The table was starting to pool up a puddle of sweat underneath her head and she frowned. Wiping the body fluid away, she decided to rest her head on her hands instead.

"Whatever you say. I'll be in the inside hallways."

"Okay. See you in second period."

Jesse went his separate way and Jess continued to inwardly curse the sun on her probably-drenched table.

~*Ω*~

"Petra?" The brown-haired twin stood still in surprise at the sight of the mysterious female a few feet away from his locker.

"Oh? Hey, Jesse." The auburn-haired teen flashed a cool smile at him.

He returned it and then leaned against the lockers, crossing his arms. "What are you doing in the boy's locker room?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be helping Coach Gabe get settled, but since he's a little distracted right now, I decided to try and... hmm... reclaim some _property_ of mine."

"Property?" He took off his backpack, shirt, and suspenders and went up to his locker, cracking his lock.

"You don't need to know. Anyway, what are you doing? School hasn't even started yet." She raised an eyebrow and her eyes flicked to his shirt and torso.

"It's _hot_ if you haven't noticed. I wanted to wear my PE clothes instead of my normal jeans and suspenders." He opened his locker and pulled out a different shirt and his PE shorts. Throwing the other shirt on, he then awkwardly smiled at Petra. "Could you... maybe go on the other side of the lockers for a bit?"

Petra simply stared at him and then turned around so her back faced him. "No need. Besides, I don't care about body shapes and whatever. I've seen you shirtless and in your boxers a lot of times, remember?"

He quickly put on his shorts and rubbed his neck awkwardly, accidentally wiping a lot of sweat onto his hand. "Y-yeah, well..." All he could emit was a nervous laugh.

"Done yet?"

"Um, yeah, yeah... You can turn around."

She looked over her shoulder and then turned around fully. "You know, I can see way more of your muscles when you have your PE clothes on." Jesse stiffened and gave her a sideways glance with wide eyes. She shrugged. "When you have your normal clothes on, you look like a bundle of sticks."

He socked her shoulder.

"Ha, but really, though, have you been working out? You seem a lot more fit than last time I saw you."

He threw his old clothing into his locker and slammed it shut after relaxing, locking it. "Jess and I have been working more on the farm and we've been sparring in the old barn. It's pretty fun; We've been getting really good at hand-to-hand combat. We haven't been going all out, of course. Both of us would be in the hospital."

"Nice," Petra said with a small grin. "With my new job, I've been having to learn a lot of self-defense and I've been fighting a lot of things."

"By job, do you mean the whole underground trader thing? And by 'fighting a lot of things,' do you mean sometimes you get attacked?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you wanna call it. The buyers often give me puzzles or they try to deceive me and cheat me out of my deals. I usually solve the puzzles and when they try to break my deal, I go after them and either get what I originally was supposed to get or keep the item I was trading. They try to fight their way out sometimes, but I win most of the time." She quickly winked.

"That's kind of shifty, isn't it? Asking for one thing but then another unexpected thing happens instead?"

"Doesn't matter to me. For the right price, I'll make a deal with anyone. Besides, have you ever seen... a Wither core?"

Jesse's eyes became wider than the medals he received in fourth grade for being a good sport and he focused all his attention on her. "Don't say that out loud!" he whisper-shouted. "Where'd you even get a Wither core? Those things weren't produced anymore after in 2010!"

"I have connections, Jesse. And I have quite a few. But it was a pain in the ass to get it... I had to go through a lot of trouble to even talk to the guy who knew where the last manufactured batch was being stored."

He gently grabbed her shoulders and stared right at her. "Petra, Wither cores are super powerful in terms of energy and processing. They stopped manufacturing them to prevent them ending up in the wrong hands- are you sure trading the cores with this guy is safe? What's his deal, anyway?"

"My contact is strange and is a bit socially impeded but everybody's got their own thing. Plus, I'm not wasting all that time I spent going through the Nether. It took a long time just to even find the abandoned storage unit. As long as he's willing to pay- I earned that stack of 2000 dollars."

"You- wait, you went through the _Nether_? How long ago was this?"

"... Last night? I came home around four in the morning."

"So, in a single night, you walked through the Nether with everything smelling of death and fire, probably fought a few Ghasts, and got a bunch of Wither cores which shouldn't be legal to have without a government license. I mean, I _DID_ become acquaintances with Gabriel and get jumped by a bunch of Order of the Stone haters with knives and stuff, but still. It's pretty cool being you, huh?" He wiped off some more sweat which had been dripping off his chin but he noticed there had been less sweat than 15 minutes ago.

She looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds before shifting some of her weight to one leg and placing a hand on her waist. "You know, you could come with me..."

Jesse's mouth slightly opened and he blinked in surprise. She started to walk out of the locker room and he grabbed his backpack and ran after her.

When he had caught up with her outside, she coolly put her hands in her short pockets. "I mean, if you're too nervous, I totally get it. But I wouldn't mind a little backup."

He opened his mouth as to say something but nothing came out. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "You want me, to come with you."

"Consider it my charitable act for the day," she said in a flowing manner. A smooth smile followed.

"I'll consider it whatever you want me to consider it- so long as I get to come," he chuckled with a glance to the ground.

Petra looked at her watch and she sighed. "Well, I think Coach Gabe is done with his soul-searching. I better get back to him. See ya later, Jesse."

"See ya." He watched the auburn-haired girl in admiration as she swayed away with a light, quick pace.

~*Ω*~

A small groan left her lips as a bead of liquid streamed down her cheek. "Humidity is nothing, Jess, you can live... it was hotter on the farm... You're fine..."

A much larger groan escaped her mouth and she half threw her torso back. "Who am I kidding? It's burning." Slapping some water off her forehead, she took a glimpse of her phone, wondering if Olivia had answered her text yet. There was nothing- and Axel hadn't even looked at the awesome meme she sent him half an hour ago.

Jess rested her head on one of her arms (again?) and tapped her chin rhythmically. "Since there's pretty much nobody here, maybe I could sneak into the choir room... And the choir teacher doesn't come until 7:45." She smiled to herself and stood up, putting her backpack on.

"Adventure!" she grinned.

~*Ω*~

Jess looked around her before slowly unlocking the door, turning the pins around so it stayed open. Taking out the paper clip, she listened to the hinges creak as she slid into the classroom, attempting to close the door quietly behind her.

The lights automatically turned on and she could hear the sound of the AC starting up. Good. Now she wouldn't sing in the scorching heat. She would be singing in the comfortable cool instead.

Digging through some file cabinets nearby, she found what she had been looking for and closed the drawer with a little whistle.

" _Listen to the sounds above, they're calling out to you_ ," she hummed underneath her breath. " _Waking up won't save the voice screaming through_."

" _You'll find a way, you'll break the glass, the shards we call fate will all fall apart-_

 _Don't make a noise, don't make a peep, just listen to me and hear the songful art_."

She giggled as she flipped through another page of the sheet music and tapped a black key on the dusty baby grand piano in the corner of the room. They weren't supposed to learn this song until January, but she decided to be a few steps ahead.

With the way she was singing, she was glad it was only her in the lonely classroom. Nevertheless, she had fun and continued to belt out high notes, knowing her choir teacher would reprimand her later for using her voice so carelessly.

A little frog in her throat wouldn't be a problem for only a day.

~*Ω*~

"Hey, Jess," called out the male twin. "Yeah?" responded the female.

"I'm going to come home later, so you don't have to wait for me today, okay?"

"Why's that?"

"I'm gonna be with Petra for a bit. She's taking me to see something cool."

"Oh," smiled she, "have fun then." Her brother grinned back at her. "Thanks, sis." He walked away, leaving Jess alone on the crowded concrete path, a bittersweet yet rueful smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

~*Ω*~

Since her voice was ragged-sounding from her solo concert in the morning, she didn't sing in chorus. She didn't have the power to sing either.

Her brother was getting closer to Petra and they were hanging out more. He was smiling more. Jess was happy for him but why was she so envious of him? There was no reason for her to wish she spent more time Petra- she actually wanted Jay to get closer to Petra because she knew things he didn't.

Then why was she so jealous?

The thoughts weighed down on her shoulders and she felt herself being dragged down. Her strength was slowly being drained, and she simply crossed her arms as she sat in her seat, unaware of the carefully pitched voices around her.

It's just Petra and Jay.

It's just Jay and Petra.

 _I don't understand_.

She held her head, unsure about the sudden change in mood and atmosphere. Why had everything become a shade darker? Why was the whiteboard looking a little gray? It wasn't because of a black marker that was carelessly wiped off- it was just... gray.

A dog barked in the distance and she snapped back to class. The choir teacher was standing behind the baby grand piano and was conducting "Lux Aurumque," holding his hand out gingerly to keep everyone's voice soft.

The sopranos held out a soft yet dark tone and she blinked a few times. The baritones sang a deep note and shook the whole classroom.

The tenors resounded throughout the floors and the walls, entering the song with a powerful blast of energy, and Lukas glanced at her, retreating when he saw her glare back at him.

Forget this stupid emotion. She wasn't going to let it bring her down for the rest of the day. She was going to continue to do her best and give it her all.

She stood up and sang with a powerful vibrato, bringing in an entirely new element into the sacred harmony.

Lukas stole another glance at her when she wasn't looking and softly smiled as he quieted down.

* * *

RapidSammi - **hEY LOOK! ANOTHER CHAPTER :D Also that's pretty much me whenever I do anything exercise related**

sailor . mikuchan **\- I heard there was a song called that but I never actually listened to it hmm**


	8. Chapter 8

**Since it's Spring break, I'm going to try and spit these out as fast as I can to keep you guys in the loop :)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"Come on. We're supposed to be meeting up in the dark alleyway over there."

The freckled girl jerked her head in the direction of the alley and briskly walked to it. The slightly shorter brown-haired male followed nervously, flicking his eyes side-to-side.

"Are you sure this is the place?" he spoke up after a few minutes. "He could have meant another alley."

"Hm. I _was_." She tapped her chin before grabbing her bag. "How about this. You stay here while I go and look around for a bit. I won't take long if he isn't nearby."

"Okay. I'll hold down the fort. You be safe, Petra."

Petra snorted and put some loose hair behind her ear, fixing her beanie. "More like _you_ be safe, Jay. Now, remember this, if he comes here and I haven't returned yet, just stall for me."

"Gotcha." He then watched Petra disappear into the darkness and then stayed vigilant.

After another few minutes, Jesse was starting to get a little tired of being alert so he decided to rest his tired legs, sitting down with his back leaning against the wall. Thankfully, it wasn't as hot as it was a few hours ago but he still had a bit of perspiration on his neck from the uncomfortable humidity.

He looked around him for anything interesting. There wasn't really anything- just moldy walls, broken glass, and–

A bag?

The large dark blue sack seemed fairly new and the bulge indicated something was still in it. Curious with nothing or no one to hold him back, he reached out to grab it.

The sound of hollow footsteps nearby caused Jesse's head to perk up. Slowly but quietly pushing himself up, he shifted most of his weight to one foot and leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

A shadow of a slender man veiled the green-eyed boy as they walked around the corner. Jesse resisted the urge to step back and kept eye contact with the dark-haired man. Despite not being able to clearly see the man's face in the shadows, Jesse guessed where his eyes were and kept his focus there.

"And just who are you...?"

A bit of silence.

"No, who are you?" replied the boy with a bit of sass. His sister was really rubbing off on him.

The man made a wide movement with his hands and said, "If you belonged here, you would know!"

"Unless... that's all part of the plan," Jesse awkwardly smirked.

The long-haired man just stared at him for a second before furrowing what seemed to be his eyebrows. "I'm supposed to meet with Petra, not whatever you're supposed to be! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't walk out of here right now."

"Because..." he struggled to find a reason, "you need a Wither core." Smart move, Jesse. So smart.

The man's eyes widened slightly and then seemed to glare at Jesse. "Don't say that out loud! People would kill for this thing."

"Why do you even need it? Seems a little sketchy, sir."

"I have no business telling you my intentions. That's it, I'm out–"

"Ivor!"

The two males turned their heads to see Petra down the other side of the alley and the man sighed. "Ah, here she is. Finally. Your... _partner_... here almost soured the deal."

"Sorry I'm late. But – good things are worth waiting for. I've got what you've asked for." She walked up to stand next to Jesse and sent him a glance to not mess this up for her.

"If you have what you promised us," he said, totally missing her signal.

"You didn't say anything about an 'us' when we first met," said Ivor, "and I don't like surprises." He sent a glance to Jesse who noticed it this time. "If these are the sorts of people you associate with... Perhaps we should call the whole thing off."

"My friend is fine, right, Jesse? There's no problem here," she assured him, giving Jesse a painfully obvious glare this time. "Let's not be too hasty, okay? This is just a little misunderstanding."

"Let's just do this thing," the male teenager said, not wanting to evoke the wrath of Petra again.

"That's what I thought," the auburn-haired girl said, relaxing her tense face.

She pulled out the Wither core which seemed to pulse a bright purple in her hand. Ivor gleefully grabbed it and started to examine it in the little light they had.

"I'll take my two grand now," she said.

"Take it," said Ivor, who jerked his head to the large bag, "it's yours."

Both Jesse and Petra turned around and kneeled on one knee, picking up the blue sack. Petra untied the string and peeked into the sack, her face contorted after seeing what was inside.

She pulled out the things from inside, revealing it to be a bunch of lapis paper. "Lapis bills?! No, no, no!" She cried out in frustration and slammed her fist against the wall. "Come on. We're going after him." She started running and Jesse followed suit, smiling nervously.

"Hey, Lapis bills aren't so bad! We need more money to decorate the farm, anyway!"

Petra just looked at him and then kept going.

~*Ω*~

"Ugh! I can't believe we lost him." The furious pale girl flailed her arms up. "What a jerk! I didn't almost die a couple times just to get half of what I asked for."

"If it makes you feel any better, we can use those bills to trade for something more expensive..." He scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Not many people accept Lapis money anymore, Jesse. Not even underground dealers."

"Okay... Then we'll exchange it for $1000 and trade it."

Petra just sighed and lowered her arms. "Whatever. We should be going home. I don't want your sister to be worried about you."

"I already told her I was staying out late. Can't I hang out with you a bit more?" He smiled and she glanced at him.

"... Fine."

~*Ω*~

They kept strolling along the sidewalk before stopping in front of a two-story house with light blue walls.

"So, this is where you live..." Jesse gasped in amazement. It was a very nice house. There were flowers lined alongside the grass, a white bench on the porch, and even a pinwheel next to some of the flowers.

"Yeah. My adoptive parents still love their tidiness and flowers. Unless you remembered that."

"I remember, all right," he laughed. "Let's go in, yeah?"

She faintly smiled at him and they both walked up to the white door.

Petra opened it and they stepped in, taking off their shoes in the doorway. Closing it behind them, they took another few steps before a female voice echoed in a nearby room.

"Petra? Is that you?"

"Yeah. I've got Jesse with me so we're going upstairs—"

"Oh! Hold on, dear."

Some clanging of pots and pans was heard and a stout woman with brown hair and brown eyes entered the room. She had a black apron on and it was obvious she had been cooking.

"Hello, Jesse, nice to see you again!" The middle-aged woman smiled warmly. "Where's your sister?"

"At home. I came alone. How have you been, Mrs. Casey?"

"Oh, I've been doing just fine and dandy! Now, I know you two want to spend some time together, so I'll leave you be." She briskly walked back into the kitchen and water boiling over could be heard.

"You know, I still don't know how you call her 'guardian' or 'adoptive parent.' I can't resist calling her 'Mom' at some times." He followed Petra up the stairs and she didn't speak until they entered her room.

"Well, they're not my real parents. You know that. That's why I kept Johnson as my last name instead of Casey." She started twiddling her thumbs and sat on the edge of her bed. "I miss my real mom and dad. They were cool." She chuckled as some memories came back to her. "Do you recall that time when we all went to the park and your mom threw a pie at my mom's face?"

Jesse smiled. "Oh, yeah, and she started covering our eyes saying, 'Protect the children, they're only six!'"

Petra laughed under her breath as she remembered her dad lifting them up and then getting hit in the face by a pie from the Jesses' dad.

"So, has anything changed much since last year?" suddenly perked up Jesse as he looked around her room. It was pretty neat and orderly but the stack of stuff next to her computer could do with some cleaning.

"Not really, other than moving and my whole job thing."

"Do Mr. and Mrs. Casey know about it?"

"No. They don't need to."

"What if you get in trouble?"

"Then that's my problem, not theirs!" she suddenly snapped. "They don't need to know anything!"

Petra gasped and then took a few deep breaths, softly staring at Jesse. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my composure like that."

Jesse sat next to her and patted her back gently, smiling. "It's alright. But sometimes you have to let others take care of you, Peets. You have to get to know others and forgive them."

"Then what about you and Jess with Lukas?"

He cringed his nose. "No. Porter is an exception."

"Lukas didn't have anything to do with Reuben, Jesse, and you know that. Besides, he could be useful in the future. He's kind of arrogant but a guy like him could be handy to have around."

"I don't need a lecture on the power of collaboration, Petra."

"How about a lecture on my fists? They're just as powerful."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll think about it."

There was a bit of silence between them as Jesse continued patting her back.

".. Hey, Jesse?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

 **A kind of short but cool switch in perspective to M!Jesse's evening! And we learn more about Petra too ooh~**

RapidSammi - **WOO! *aggressively dabs***

sailor . mikuchan - **I'll listen to it after I finish the next chapter then :D**

Meow Shadow - **Thank you! I agree, these first chapters kinda just drag on but once we learn more about everyone, things will speed up, I promise ;) (Also if I typed out everything they did during the day, it would just be too much haha) Hopefully you enjoyed the hinted Jetra in this chapter * _wink wink_ ***


	9. Chapter 9

**New chapter because I'm on the phone with my friend and secretly doing this to annoy her when we're supposed to be working on a project together for English lmao**

 **Also 1000 views!? Thank you so much, everyone! I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story and reacting the way I expected (hehe sorry about Lukas)**

 **I can't thank everyone enough! I love you all!**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

Jess was humming to herself as she left her last class and went to the locker room. Surprisingly, there was no one else there, so she started to slowly sing a little louder, although still quiet. Lux Aurumque was stuck in her head and the only way she knew to satisfy her head was to sing it out loud.

Grabbing her items, she walked back out and went to her actual hallway locker, turning the lock. It clicked and she pulled off the lock and opened her locker. Still humming, she took out a textbook and some papers and closed her locker with a _slam_ and started to make her way to the library.

She was just peacefully weaving her way through some random crowds of people when an arm extended in front of her and blocked her from continuing. An irritated expression on her face, she took a glimpse of the person's face and sighed loudly with exaggerated annoyance.

"What do you want, Mercer? I'm trying to go study, here."

Aiden flashed a toothy smirk and leaned closer to her, his face dangerously close to hers. They locked eyes and held it, neither one backing down. "You and your stupid brother have been keeping Lukas from being his best. Why's he so interested in you two? You both are nothing but losers."

She stuck her nose up and made a 'humph.' "Why should I know? I don't care about him. Why is he even friends with you? You're nothing but a trash puppy. Always snooping around, trying to antagonize me."

"You don't bother me at all, flatbread. Lukas is the only reason why I'm even here in front of you. I can't have him hanging around some nobodies."

"Then go back to Lukas and get out of my face, trash puppy. I don't need someone with dirty paws to remind me how great I am."

"You're nothing, flatbread. Nothing compared to me."

"But Nothing lasts forever, dearest Mercer. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to read 100 pages." She ducked under his arm and continued walking, a wide smirk on her face and she memorized Aiden's shocked expression.

~*Ω*~

5:00 P.M. The library was about to close. At least she got 72 pages in. With a defeated sigh, she closed the textbook and left, slinging her backpack over one shoulder.

If only Olivia and Axel weren't in clubs. Maybe she would've had some friends to be with right now. And Jesse was out with Petra, so there was no point in calling him.

Feeling strangely lonely, she walked back to her hallway locker to put her textbook back.

A _slam_ resounded throughout the empty hallways. In all honesty, it was kind of frightening. Jess held her arms and prepared herself to go home. Of course, as she was tying her high-tops, the sound of a leather jacket fluttered nearby.

Crap.

"Hey, Ryder."

She stood up and turned to face the blonde with a complimentary sneer. "Hello, Porter. Where'd you learn my last name?"

"I saw it yesterday in the computer room. When the teacher was taking roll, I was looking at all the names to find mine but I found yours, too."

"Creepy."

"Sorry if it sounds that way," he chuckled. "Anyway, school is closing soon... Are you going home right now?"

"Why do you need to know? You should stay away from me. In fact, your friend Mercer wasted five precious minutes of my life to tell me that my 'stupid brother' and I was hindering you."

"Like I told you and your brother, don't pay attention to him, he's just trying to get in your head. He's really wary of other people."

"Then the both of us should stay far away from each other and he'll stop."

Lukas sighed and put his hands in his jacket pockets. "Listen, Jesse... Can I call you Jess? (No, she abruptly said) I'm sorry about Reuben and Aiden. Really, I am. I just want us to start over again. Maybe we can actually be friends. You never know."

"Porter, I do not want to be your friend nor do I need your apology to Reuben. He's already gone. You can't change what has already happened." She clenched her fists and hung her head, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Okay, so we can't change the past. But we can rewrite the future with some simple steps." He shrugged and held his hand out to her. When she didn't do anything, he retracted it. "Jess, I... I was really hurt yesterday when I realized your brother was only talking to me to 'gather information.' I thought he actually was trying to learn some new things about me even though he still was kind of a jerk to me. To know that I was just being messed around with really killed me inside. All I want is to start over like I've said multiple times. I don't want this nonsense happening between us. Maybe we can forget about the whole Reuben incident and try-"

"Damn you," she whispered, her voice trembling with anger. "Damn you!" She took a sharp inhale and she started to shiver, fury coating all of her words and movements. " _DAMN YOU!_ " she shrieked, her shrill voice bouncing off the walls. "How could you even say I should forget what happened to Reuben?! You don't understand, Porter. Because of Mercer's silly jealousy, I lost my BEST FRIEND! If it weren't for him, I never would have seen my parents smiling again!"

She raised her head and tears were obvious in her now-murky forest eyes. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she blinked some tears away. "The fact that you assumed I could just put this all behind me is _terrifying_. You know _nothing_ , Porter. You don't know _anything_ about me or my brother! You don't know how _three_ years can change someone! You don't know how three years can blind someone!"

She struggled to breathe and choked out her final words. "I _hate_ you, Porter. _I hate you_. If I ever see you and your _pussycats_ around my friends again-" she brought one hand up to her neck and sliced it across the air as if it were a knife- "It will be off with your head."

There was a long absence of sound between the two and Jess finally turned around, giving him the cold shoulder. "Goodbye, Porter."

Her footsteps echoed within the walls of the hallway and Lukas struggled to move.

"No, wait, Jess, I—"

... Too late. She was already gone.

~*Ω*~

She was on her bed, legs and arms spread out. Her large blanket molded around her limbs and torso and she sighed. It was 8:00 P.M. She didn't think Jesse would be out _this_ long.

It was such a shame, too. She really needed someone to rant to about her Lukas problems. She couldn't let loose her troubles on Olivia and Axel- they both already had their own problems to deal with (and Olivia had a Tower as well).

A _ding_ from her phone brought her mind back to earth and she rolled over to grab the small Cloud.

 _Instagram - You have one message request._

Who was trying to DM her now? _It better not be those stupid 'get followers' accounts_ , she thought.

Checking her Instagram, she opened her message request and checked the username.

"Ugh!" she cried out in disgust. He kept trying to talk to her and she had made it painfully obvious that she didn't want to talk to him, let alone see him!

LukasPorter_: _Jess, I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. Can you forgive me?_

Jess angrily replied with tense fingers.

JayAndJessRyder: _No. And stop calling me Jess._

LukasPorter_: _Please, Jesse. I can make it up to you somehow. Maybe I can buy you something or even help you with homework._

She rolled her eyes. Typical 'smart dudes'.

' _Give me one good reason why I should even be acquainted with you_ ,' she messaged.

Lukas messaged back, ' _You're kind of intriguing to me, and it'll give me a chance to start over_.'

JayAndJessRyder: _You failed an easy test, Porter. I asked for one reason, not two. Bye._

She deleted the conversation and blocked him shortly after.

 _Please come home soon, Jay..._

* * *

 **Sorry for torturing the little blondie, but it's all for character development! And besides, all humans make mistakes :)**

RapidSammi - **There's more to come ;)**

Meow Shadow - **DAMMIT JESSE! and thank ye ;D These chapters can come out pretty quickly since they're pre-written (but I'm up to date on Wattpad if you'd like to check it out)**

BootyMuncher - **Cool name, just wanna say that xD and uh... oops. *hides Jesse* I can't tell you that stuff because then I would ruin a pivotal point in the story ;P**

KingKahin99 - **Poor Lukas, I know right? and thanks lol**


	10. Chapter 10

**Fairly short chapter so I'll post 11 as well :)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"Hey, Aunt Carrie." The boy shut the door behind him and sighed satisfyingly.

The light-haired woman slightly rotated her head to sneak a peek of the male twin and she raised an eyebrow. "Hello, dear. Where have you been?"

"Oh, Jess didn't tell you? I've been with Petra, you know, catching up and stuff." He started making his way to their room before Aunt Carrie placed a hand on his shoulder. Jesse looked up to make eye contact with her but she didn't say anything. After a few moments, she released him and motioned for him to keep moving.

Hesitation flashed in his eyes but he kept going anyway.

~*Ω*~

The sound of his footsteps on the carpet thumped as he happily strolled over to his bed. "Hey, Jess."

"Hey..." The dark-haired girl lifted her head slightly to catch a glance of him and then shoved her face back into her pillow.

Jesse sat on his bed and threw his bag next to him. "I went with Petra as she made a trade with someone. It was pretty cool. The guy cheated her out of a lot of money, though."

"..."

"Petra and I tried to look for him because he escaped when we weren't looking but we couldn't find him. So we went to her house. She lives on the outskirts of the eastern side of the city now. Her house was a pastel blue and had flowers along the grass. Mrs. Casey said hi and asked why you weren't here with me. I kinda wish you came along with us," he chuckled.

"Yeah... yeah."

"We went up in her room and played some board games and cards. I haven't played Sorry or Uno or Speed in a long time! It was really fun and Petra even threw the cards at me once for beating her in Speed."

"Exciting..."

"Yeah, it was. Then we took out her old Playstation and played All-Stars Battle Royale and some Street Fighter. I forgot how fun they were." He started smiling to himself like an idiot as he recalled the both of them screaming as they punched each other at the same time, ending in a draw.

Jess just laid in her bed, cradling her arms. Yes, it was warm, but she couldn't believe how cold she felt when she realized how rude she was to Lukas.

Yes, it was true, he wasn't smart for suggesting an insensitive idea like that, but she wasn't any better, shouting and threatening the boy.

What had happened to her? It was only the second day of the school year. She was never like this- never had she ever wanted to yell at someone, never had she ever insulted people so blatantly, never had she ever _hated_ someone so much–

She _could_ blame it on puberty but that was just stupid.

What happened was because of her irrational actions, not any dumb chemicals.

She was sorry for subconsciously ignoring her brother but she didn't want to ruin his good mood and spill a deluge of rants and anger onto his shoulders. She couldn't do that.

She furrowed her brow as a migraine throbbed her brain. Maybe sleeping would help her feel better in the morning.

Closing her eyes, she felt fatigue pull her downwards and regret shove her limp body into an unconscious state.

~*Ω*~

"Hey, Jess, wake up..."

A hand gently jolted her awake and she made a small gasp, slightly started from the sudden shake. Rubbing her eyes, she opened them slowly and saw her brother standing by her bedside.

"Jay... Is... is it time for school yet?" Jess asked as she stretched, twisting her torso.

"No... It's three in the morning. You were tossing and turning a lot. I was kind of worried. The way you were grasping the hem of the blanket and your hair made it seem like you were on edge or agitated about something, so I decided to wake you up in case it was a nightmare." He ruffled his messy, curly hair and pulled a chair over, sitting next to her bed with one hand still on her arm.

"I... I was moving a lot in bed?" She grabbed her head with the hand he wasn't holding and blinked, almost as if she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. "Oh. I wasn't having a nightmare, though... I think? I'm not sure."

"You know, you can always talk about everything to me, Jess." He tried to smile but it was obvious he couldn't because of the flash of concern in his eyes. "You're my sister and best friend."

"Thank you, Jay." Jess weakly gripped his hand with both of hers and held his up to her face. "Actually, I wouldn't mind if you stayed right here with me. I kinda feel like I need a hug. And I mean a _very long_ one."

He smiled feebly and wrapped his arms around her gingerly, resting his face on her chest. "I'll stay right here until you fall asleep again."

She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over them. "Until then."

* * *

Meow Shadow - **What if I had both Wattpad and Fanfiction up-to-date so you couldn't read ahead *gASP* jk fam just a prank. Lol Jess is like a wild animal, marking her territory :D (I was actually going to have them do a group hug in the next chapter but I moved it for later)**

NinaNaranja - **((I'm so sorry I forgot to put in your last review ahhhh forgive me)) lmao I was basically thinking 'what would an intelligent yet pessimistic guy do in this situation' and I immediately thought 'HOMEWORK!' And thanks** : **3 Lots of high school fics out there but not a lot of good quality ones ya know**

RapidSammi - **JETRAAA**

BootyMuncher - ***insert okay emoji here***

Guest - **OH MY GOD THANK YOU AND YES I WILL**


	11. Chapter 11

**Two short chapters to balance each other out haha although this one is a bit longer**

 **(Chapter 10 did upload, it's not a test this time, the emails messed up, so go back and read it if you haven't)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

" _I felt my eyes closing_  
 _yet there seemed to be nothing_  
 _that could pull me away_  
 _from the tragedy that day_."

"What are you saying?" Jesse sipped from his little juice box and stared at her with a strange look on his face.

Jess felt her face flush and she used her hands to gesticulate all of her words in little, frantic movements. "Oh, um, forget what I just said! Sorry, I was just thinking out loud and thought of this line from a song I heard..." She laughed nervously and tried to get him to wave it off.

"Are you okay?" Jesse put down his juice box and lightly put his hand on her forehead. "You're a little warm."

"I'm fine! Really, I am! I'm just... I've been thinking a lot."

"About what?" He picked up his juice box again and sipped loudly, much to Jess's irritation.

"Well-" she awkwardly cleared her throat- "It's the third day of school, right? Our first Friday?"

"Um... yeah."

"It's only the _third day_ \- and we've already managed to have mortal enemies. Mercer, Porter, those other two- what were their names, again? Ah, Maya and Gill."

"The Ocelots are kind of a bunch of jerks if you don't remember."

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Just... okay, listen to me as I speak and don't interrupt me unless I say otherwise." Jess took out her phone and spoke as she pulled up a screenshot. "Yesterday, I may have done some really regretful actions. I screamed at Porter and cursed at him. The day before, I insulted Mercer without thinking and threatened him. I hustled Porter, too."

"Wow..."

"Shush, I didn't say you could talk yet. Anyway, after yelling at Porter out of pure anger, I went home and he found our Instagram account and messaged me. He asked if I could forgive him and if we could start over again. I said no. I blocked him. I deleted our messages. A few hours later, you came home and started talking about your day with Petra. You sounded really happy and I didn't want to ruin that for you, so I just... kept my mouth shut about the whole ordeal."

There was a silence between them and Jesse watched as Jess fidgeted around with her fingers. He threw away his juice box in a nearby trashcan and sighed loudly, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"Jess. I can't believe how dumb you are despite your 3.95 GPA."

"Hey- what?!"

He smiled and pulled her in, hugging her tightly. A shocked expression and a gasp were all he needed to see and hear. "Jess, it's good that you've paid attention to your interactions with other people and considered how they may have affected the other. In fact, you made me feel like a jerk for a bit until you explained what you did."

"Hmph."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "But really... you did a good thing. Can we start over with the Ocelots? I don't know. But it doesn't hurt to try."

"... Thanks, Jay. I love you." She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed gently, digging her face into the crook of his neck.

"I love you too, Jess."

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A bunch of cheese?"

The two looked up and slightly frowned. Aiden stood cockily in front of them while the other three were behind him. "Come on, we were just talking about starting over with you guys!" exclaimed Jesse.

Lukas's head perked up behind Aiden and he looked at the twins. Although he didn't express any emotion, his eyes were sparkling.

"Starting over? Pfft, how so?" taunted Aiden. "It's not like we can erase the past."

"Yeah, that's impossible," Maya joined in with a small hair flip.

Aiden glared at Maya but didn't do anything.

"Ahem." Jess let go of Jesse and took a small step forward. "I'll go first. Listen, Aiden..."

He returned his attention back to her and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry." She rested her hand on her chest and sighed. "I'm sorry about the way I treated you. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It wasn't right. Doing so just made everything worse."

"I'm sorry, too," continued Jesse. "I shouldn't have judged you all based on previous events. Maybe you all are as bad as you were back then but... I should still give you guys some chances."

"All in all... we're sorry for everything," concluded Jess.

There was no reply from the Ocelots. The twins simply sighed and acknowledged the elephant in the room. "Sorry for making everything awkward. We have to get to class now." The both of them held hands as they turned around and walked opposite the group, heads held in shame.

"... Come on, guys. Let's go," ordered Aiden, who shoved his hands in his pockets and walked in the other direction. Maya and Gill followed shortly behind.

Lukas didn't move at all. He just kept staring at the two siblings who were walking towards the main hallway entrance.

"Lukas. What are you doing?" asked Aiden with a slight tilt of his head. "We gotta get to class."

"You... You guys go ahead. I'll catch up later." The blonde started running to the hallway doors and Aiden groaned.

"Don't tell me he's going after those guys!"

Maya and Gill nodded. "Okay."

"It wasn't a literal thing!"

Lukas kept running and weaved through the crowds of students entering the halls. He'd lost sight of the twins and mentally cursed himself. What was their first class? Agh, it wasn't like he'd know. They were sophomores while he was a junior.

He turned a sharp right and accidentally bumped into some people- _hard_.

"Oh my gosh!" he said in a rush. "I'm so sorry!" Looking down at the girls who had fallen over, he blinked in surprise when he realized it was Olivia and another girl he didn't recognize.

"You?" Olivia rubbed her head gingerly and stood up, picking up her books and papers.

"Oww..." moaned the girl beside Olivia. The dark-skinned girl helped the other stand up and picked up her bag for her. "Thanks," smiled the girl.

Lukas hastily grabbed any loose papers and gave them to Olivia. "I'm really sorry about that. Have you seen either Jesse?"

Olivia frowned and crossed her arms. "Why would you need to know?"

"Well, uh, they-" he bit his lip- "they forgot something and I'm trying to give it back to them." He felt somewhat bad for lying but did she really need to know that the two were apologizing?

"Oh, I just saw them walk past room 231," interjected the brown-haired girl next to Olivia. She fixed the flower crown on her head before continuing. "They were talking and holding hands."

"Okay, thanks! See ya later, maybe." Lukas dashed off and continued looking for them while Olivia scoffed and glared at the girl.

"Why would you tell him?!"

"Was... I not supposed to?"

"No, you weren't! Vienna, I thought I explained all of this to you!"

Vienna shaped her lips into an 'o' and she tapped her pastel pink nails on her plump lips. "Oh, _he_ was Lukas?"

Olivia threw her arms up in the air and let go of all the papers she had been holding. "Vienna!"

~*Ω*~

"We tried and fought valiantly, but failed in the end," sighed Jess with a slight pout. She gripped Jesse's hand but he simply shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. We tried and _they_ lost by losing their chance."

"I guess. Ugh, where's Olivia? She's supposed to be here by now."

"Maybe she's in the bathroom or something."

Jess was about to softly groan when footsteps echoed behind them and a hand rested on her shoulder.

"What- who are you- oh."

"Sorry... about that." The male took his hand off Jess's shoulder and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I wanted to follow up on the whole thing back there."

"Porter, you don't have to say anything," Jess shook her head. "We understand if you don't want to talk to us."

"Yeah, you don't need to feel obligated to say anything to us," Jesse said, running his thumb over Jess's hand.

"This is not because I feel obligated to- this is because I want to," affirmed Lukas. "I'm sorry about everything, too. The way things started out between all of us was not what should've happened. And I should have never said the things I said yesterday to you, Jess... I'm so sorry. It was an absolutely stupid move on my part."

"I'm really sorry, too..." She clenched Jesse's hand tighter and he moved closer to her just in case. "I should have never cursed at you, I shouldn't have shouted at you, I shouldn't have just brushed you off like you were dirt. I feel... terrible."

"Oookay, let's put all of this behind us for now," Jesse said as he gently patted Jess's back. "Why don't we start over?"

"Y-yeah, that sounds good," agreed Lukas.

"... Hi," softly said Jess, "I'm Jess Ryder. This is my brother, Jesse." She made eye contact with Lukas's cyan orbs and smiled. "What's your name?"

Lukas smiled and looked back at Jess. "Hey. I'm Lukas Porter, and I'm glad I was able to meet you guys."

"And I'm Axel Posehn, and I have no idea what's going on here!"

"AXEL!"

* * *

 **Apologies are difficult for the twins because they are just so genuine about their emotions... aww.**

 **Hopefully you enjoyed the story so far! Sorry it's been somewhat slow-paced, but things will get a little quicker! And I guess this is the chapter everyone has been waiting for, so your wait has not been in vain!**

 **Also mwahaha there are no chapter reviews bc I posted these side by side! I tricked you all!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Double posting today because today is the last day of my break! Chapters will be coming out slower once again. (But don't worry- it's not _that_ slow)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"Oh, Notch, you scared us!" sighed Jesse in relief. The other two also sighed.

"Nothing's fun if you're not scared half to death," Axel said, crossing his arms after remembering Lukas was there. "So what are you guys doing with this chump?"

"Well, to put it simply, we're friends now," Jess said.

"Oh, okay, that's cool- wait, _what_?"

"You heard her," chuckled Jesse, "we're friends."

Axel opened his mouth to say something and then closed it before opening it again after thinking. "Okay, wait... you're going to have to explain all of this to me in class, Jesse. You're completely losing me."

"Alright, big guy," Jesse laughed as he patted Axel's back. "We should probably split and get to our class. See ya later, Jess, Lukas." He waved and started off towards his class, pulling Axel along.

Both Jess and Lukas waved back. Then the girl turned to Lukas and shrugged. "So... um... shouldn't you be making your way to class by now? Bell's going to ring in a minute."

He shook his head with a small smirk. "Nah, teacher's always late to first period anyway. He takes fifteen minutes before he gets to class."

"Wow. Shouldn't he be on a few warnings or something?"

"We don't tell anyone. Gives all of us more time to do homework or get to class."

She laughed. "I guess that makes sense."

They stood next to each other for a while when the bell rang and Jesse grumbled.

"Where is Olivia? She's never late to class."

Lukas leaned against the wall and pulled out a stick of gum. "Oh, I kinda accidentally bumped into her when I was trying to find you guys. She was with this other girl. I don't know her name, though."

"What did she look like?" Jess started eyeing the gum as he took off the wrapper and put it in his mouth.

"Um, she had brown hair, brown eyes, light skin... also was wearing a flower crown and had pink nails. I think she was Asian." He chewed slowly on the minty gum.

"Oh! Vienna. I know her. She has PE with Jay and I. Olivia was probably helping her find her new classes then."

"Hm. That makes sense." He blew a bubble and it popped.

Jess resisted the urge to look at his gum and stared at the window in front of them. "You probably don't know since this is your first year here, but Vienna is the most popular girl in school. She has a bunch of social media which updates news about school and certain events. Pretty much everyone follows her and admires her because she's really cool."

"Huh. That's nice to know. So how did you guys meet her?"

"We just had classes with her in middle school. Nothing too fancy."

"If only it was that simple when we first met," Lukas chuckled, blowing another bubble.

She laughed. "You know, it's kind of funny. A few hours ago, we were each other's eternal antagonists, and now we're just... chill. Weird how things turn out."

"Yeah." He softly smirked to himself and purposely popped the bubble so he could chew on it again.

"We should probably go. I see my teacher down the hall." She realigned her shirt and waved to Lukas with a smile. "See ya later." Her feet moved and she was about to enter the classroom when Lukas tapped her shoulder and held out a fresh stick of gum.

"Want some?"

She smiled again. "Thanks." Taking the gum, she took off the wrapper and held it between her lips. Then she disappeared inside the classroom, mixed in with all her other classmates.

~*Ω*~

 **A/N: *inhale* let us breathe in some new perspectives that will not normally be in this story so please don't expect much of their POV *exhale***

 **(Okay other people's POV will be in this story but not often and not for long just sayin')**

~*Ω*~

"Long story short, that's how we became friends."

"Okay, wait. I'm still lost on the apology part. Actually, I'm still lost on all of it. You're telling me you guys forgave each other?"

"Axel, this is the third time I'm telling it to you! What do I need to tell you to help you understand?"

Axel shrugged. "I'm just having a hard time comprehending all of this. The other day, Jess literally knocked me over because she had to let out steam. But now she's forgiving them? Sorry, this is just too much, Jesse. I'm going to have to think about this a little bit more."

Jesse sighed. "I guess that makes sense."

Axel looked down at the ground as he tried to make sense of all the pieces. It... didn't really make sense at all, honestly, but he was trying. He didn't like that Ocelot jerk. Something about Lukas just ticked Axel off. Lukas had the face of those Easter Island statues, with the big, long noses and stone look. He just wasn't as interesting when Axel made the comparison.

Secretly, inside, Axel was hoping that Lukas wouldn't ruin their current friendship. It was all he had. The Jesses and Olivia were the only people he really knew and trusted (except Petra) and if Lukas took that all away, Axel wouldn't have anything left.

Plus, he was more of a fanboy than Petra's friend.

He mentally slapped himself. _Stay on track, Axel._

He would make sure that dumb Lukas wouldn't get in the way of anything of importance to him.

~*Ω*~

Olivia almost dropped her lab charts when she realized what Jess had said.

"Wait, so you're telling me you guys forgave him?!"

"Um, yeah..."

The girl fixed her beanie and safety goggles and inhaled. Breathing out, she smiled. "Okay. Okay. If you guys can forgive him, then I will, too."

Jess smiled and hugged Olivia. "Thanks, Liv."

"Oh, Jess, don't drop the tongs!"

"Ahh-! Sorry!" Olivia watched as Jess quickly retightened her grip on the metal tongs and exhaled.

Maybe it was a good thing that the Jesses forgave Lukas. At first, he hadn't seemed so bad, but then when he introduced the rest of the Ocelots with the matching jackets and everything, it kind of disinterested Olivia. She wasn't about to get involved with a bunch of troublemakers.

Then the whole thing between the Jesses and the Ocelots happened and she was somewhat glad to join her friends' side because her first impression of them was not so good.

But now that she somewhat knows them better? They could be somewhat decent. 'They' meaning Lukas.

He didn't seem so bad compared to Aiden and the others. Maybe they could finally have a new friend after years of struggling.

Maybe it was a good thing they forgave him.

"Hey, Olivia? Liv? Ms. Plimpton? Uh, um... Livvie?"

She blinked and noticed Jess waving her hand in front of her face. "Oh, sorry, Jess, I kinda spaced out."

"Yeah, I noticed. Anyway, can you help me set up the carbon dioxide and nitrogen sensors? It says we need to wire them like this.." Jess held a waxed paper in front of her and Olivia gasped.

"This is way too much wiring for sensors! Why couldn't they just make adapters..." she groaned.

Hey, at least it was less complicated than their friendship.

~*Ω*~

 **A/N: And back to your normal broadcasting service!**

~*Ω*~

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Jess managed to ignore Aiden's intense 'I'll burn a hole into the back of your head' glares, talk a bit more with Lukas, and in general, just be a little bit more happy than before.

Jesse _finally_ was able to get Axel to calm down a bit. The dude had been uneasy for the rest of first period so Jesse just gave him some cookies and he totally forgot about everything. He was also able to have a long conversation with Petra about how Jess brought up the idea of apologizing and all he got in return was a smirk and an 'I told you.'

Despite it being the third day of school, they finally felt like they were starting off the year.

"Let's keep this ball rolling," they both said as they went to bed.

* * *

Meow Shadow - **Wattpad and Fanfiction are currently going to be up-to-date, so you won't be able to read ahead for a while ahaha sorry ;v; However, once I lessen my workload, Wattpad will be ahead again!**

RapidSammi - **Will Lukesse survive to the end! Continue reading and find out!**

Meow Shadow, RapidSammi, sailor . mikuchan, Beli0304 - **Lol I'm glad you all enjoyed the chapter! But in all honesty, I couldn't understand why you all thought it was funny. When I was writing it, I was thinking of a tired sloth. Maybe that's why xD**

 **Note to self: When writing funny scenes, always think of a tired sloth. Or maybe an exploding one? Hmm. Not sure.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I wish I was irl friends with the NOOTS and Lukas haha.**

 **But- important question- Is Lukas part of the Order? I've been thinking that he's kind of a close friend of the New Order but never really a part of the group. He's the one in the crowd instead of being on stage with the others when the Witherstorm is destroyed, but then when they shut down PAMA, Jesse says "We're the Order of the Stone!" and all of them pose, including Lukas. So maybe he is part of the group after the fourth episode? Idk. Just some things in my head.**

* * *

A week had passed by since the "Friday of Forgiveness." Both Jesses were getting ready to see their aunt off at the airport.

"She's going to miss the Summer Finale," frowned Jesse. "I really wanted to be there with her."

"Me too," said Jess with a rueful smile. "But I guess this year isn't the one. We'll have to make sure we take pictures and record the parade for her."

Aunt Carrie came back from the coffee shop and smiled at the twins, holding tightly onto her carry-on. With a final heart-wrenching hug, she let go of the two and made her way to the line of people waiting to check their tickets. "Take care of yourselves and each other, alright?"

"We promise," assured Jess. Jesse nodded and waved to her.

Aunt Carrie waved back and then she disappeared into the doorway, leaving the twins behind.

"Damn," exhaled Jesse through gritted teeth, "why did she have to get called to North Dakota now of all times? Couldn't she have a floating holiday or something?"

"It's not our business, Jay. We couldn't do anything about it and neither could she, so we'll just have to accept it. We can make sure she gets to see the parade at the end of the Finale, okay?"

"Fine," he groaned. "What day is it today?"

"It's Friday." She looked at her phone. "The 19th."

"She's going to be gone for three months..." Jesse sighed defeatedly.

Jess stared at the date on her phone and then looked at her brother. "You know, if you want to be cheesy-" She put the phone away- "we could have her balance an angled broom that points towards the moon on the autumnal equinox. Then here at home, we could balance a broom as well and point it at the moon, and we could say we're connected because we're pointing to the same moon at the same time." **(A/N: Tomorrow is the Vernal Equinox! Try balancing a broom or a raw egg on a flat surface! I'm sorry I'm such a nerd haha)**

"... What you just said is so cheesy I'm pretty sure I became lactose-intolerant."

"Thanks for the compliment." She nudged him lightly on the side, giving a wide grin. "Anyway, we better get home. Don't want to miss out on the new upload."

"Oh yeah, he's uploading today, isn't he?"

"Yup. I think it would help you get your mind off of Auntie as well."

They stepped out of the airport and called an Uber.

~*Ω*~

"Hey, we forgot to watch the Hunger Games video from the other day," the boy said, scrolling down on a Cloud Scroll. "Wanna watch it right now?"

The girl nodded and hopped over to her brother's side. "What's it called?"

"'Nose tingles.'" As he said that, Jesse cringed his nose and rubbed it. "It kinda tickles."

Jess blinked. "Wait, so is that the name of the video or does your nose just tickle?"

"It's the name of the video. My nose just happened to tickle."

"Coincidence, I guess," she laughed. "Let's watch it already!"

"Alright, alright," he chuckled, playing the video.

They watched the video and made intermittent comments about it. When it was done, they switched to the next video and Jess spoke up.

"You know, I really can't wait for the new music video. The photos looked so cool!"

Jesse shook his head. "I can't believe it's the last one in the quadrilogy."

"It's actually tetralogy, haha."

"Whatever. But still. Wow. Time goes by fast. I remember when Fallen Kingdom first came out."

"That was a while back. And now we're at the end? Notch, the songs have grown so much."

"Yeah... Well, we should probably give a call to Lukas. He promised you those extra-large pizzas, right?"

"Uh- um, yeah. Why do you want them now?"

"Well, I was thinking we should get him to come here and get Axel and Olivia, too. Maybe even Petra."

"Are we having a mini-party? While Auntie is out?"

"Not really." He paused the video and put down the Scroll. "I want to give out pizza to random people. And you know what day it is, right?"

"I- Of course I do, I told you earlier in the airport! What does that have to do with-"

"Think harder, Jess. Why is this day important?"

"I..." She looked down at the ground and rested her chin on her hand. "August 19th... It's a Friday..." She shook her head and looked to Jesse. "Sorry, bro. I don't know. Am I supposed to?"

He grabbed her shoulders and Jess squeaked in surprise. "Today's the day Gabriel comes to town!"

Jess blinked and then she gasped loudly. "Oh my NOTCH, how did I forget? We gotta call them right now!" She stole a glance at the clock and bit her lip when she saw what time it was. "It's 5:34. Get our stuff ready and get my bag, please."

"On it." Jesse leaped off the bed and ran to their closet.

Jess frantically reached for her phone on the nightstand and dialed in Lukas's number.

 _Please pick up..._ she thought.

" _... Hello?_ "

"Oh, hey, Lukas!"

" _Hey. What's up? You don't normally call me._ "

"Yeah, well, today's different. Do you remember the deals we made before we became friends?"

" _Uh, the pizza ones? I do, why?_ "

"Well, just buy those pizzas at the nearest Domino's and come to the Metro station ASAP. Oh, and make sure they're pepperoni and cheese."

" _No Hawaiian?_ "

"You know how people are, Lukas. There's two kinds of people in this world- those who like pineapple on pizzas and those who don't. Now stop talking to me and just hurry, please!"

" _Okay, I got it. See you there._ "

"Bye."

She ended the call and then searched her contacts for Olivia's or Axel's name.

It wasn't too hard since she had put an emoji of a red lamp next to Olivia and an explosion emoji next to Axel.

Calling Axel first, she watched as Jesse accidentally slipped and fell forward into the closet, wincing.

"Oh... you okay, Jay?"

"Yeah," came out a muffled voice. "I'm fine."

Axel picked up the call and Jess told him to get to the station right now. Axel coughed slightly and asked why.

"Um, it's a surprise, but don't worry!" She smiled as if Axel could see her but then remembered she was on the phone. "It's totally worth it."

" _Okay then. I trust you. Let me get ready and I'll make my way over there._ "

"Okay! Bye!"

Then it was Olivia.

" _Hey, Jess._ "

"Yo! I was just wondering if you could come to the Metro station right now."

" _The station? What for? Is someone coming?_ "

"Yeah, actually! You'll be excited to meet them. It's worth it, I promise!"

" _Who is it?_ "

"I can't really tell you right now. Just come, please?"

A sigh played through her phone's speakers. " _Alright, Jess. I'll come._ "

"Thanks, Liv! See you there!"

She closed the phone app, deciding not to call Petra, and checked the time. "Okay, we still have plenty of time. Got all our stuff?"

"Yeah, your bag and jacket are over there," Jesse said, pointing at the doorway where her jacket and bag were hanging off the knob.

"Thanks, Jay. Now come on, let's go!"

They grabbed their stuff and ran out the door into the hallway, locking it behind them. Waving at the receptionist before they stepped outside, they ran down the street and boarded a bus.

Around roughly 15 minutes, they had arrived at the station and sat on a bench, waiting for their friends to come. Axel came not long after them and Olivia came after another 10 minutes. Since he was the one getting the pizza, Lukas joined the group 45 minutes after Olivia, carrying the two large boxes of delectable cheese and pepperoni.

"So," Lukas started off as he handed a slice to Jesse, "what are we all doing here?"

Jesse looked to his sister as he chewed on the pizza. She rolled her eyes.

"Gabriel's coming here to Stonebrook."

Lukas, Olivia, and Axel all stared at the Jesses with open mouths and nobody was able to say anything until Jesse swallowed the rest of his pizza.

"You're probably wondering how we know this."

"Uh, yeah!" Axel said. "How do you know he's going to be here?"

"He's never said anything like that in public!" gawked Olivia.

"But we talked with him... _in private._ " Jess bit out of a slice. "We were going to tell you and Axel a long time ago, but then the... the incident happened..."

Lukas could hear her breath hitch and he looked down.

"B-But hey! You know now! We can all meet him together!" She smiled and chuckled nervously.

"And there he is!" Jesse exclaimed, pointing at a train coming down the tunnel.

Everyone watched as the train came to a full stop and slowly opened the doors, bringing a rail down. Many people flooded into the station but there was no sight of Gabriel.

"How are we going to find him with this many people exiting?" Lukas grumbled, gesturing widely to refer to the crowd.

"We don't find him," Jess replied, chewing on some more pizza and handing out random slices to strangers. "He finds us."

"And just like that, I stand behind you."

Jess whipped her head around and her eyes widened, a bright grin on her face. "Hey! You came quickly!"

Jesse gave out one last slice to someone and then waved to the dark man behind Jess. "Gabriel, you really know how to blend in. I honestly thought you were just some random dude waiting for someone behind Jess."

The man lifted his shades and winked. "This beanie fits in with everyday people and is pretty comfortable, too. Now, come on, let us all go somewhere less inconspicuous." He put his sunglasses on again and exited the station. With Jess carrying the pizza box this time, the teens followed. (They had given away all of the pepperoni slices.)

They had made their way to a small cafe and took a table inside. Luckily, not many people were there, so Gabriel was able to take off his sunglasses.

"Before we talk about anything, can I ask how you and the Jesses met?" Lukas inquired of Gabriel. Axel gave Lukas a glare but the blonde didn't seem to notice it.

"Aha, well, it's a very strange story in itself!" The man laughed, rumbling deeply. "These two-" he started to pat them on the heads- "were walking outside the Endercon Build Display when they bumped into me, ripping my outfit and blowing my cover. They immediately recognized who I was and they ran and hid me in an alleyway. As I was about to ask them something, other people noticed me and they started to mob me, all of them not exactly fans of the Order. We were being attacked when all of a sudden their pig suddenly came out of nowhere and surprised the crowd, giving us a chance to escape. When the fiasco was over and I was alone with them again, I thanked them and their pig for helping me and I gave them tickets to Europe, where I was eventually going to visit. I remember sister Jesse saying something along the lines of 'Europe next on the plane to France!'"

Jess blushed and hid her face in her jacket. Jesse smacked her back, saying "I remember that!" as he started laughing. The others laughed lightly and Jess pulled her jacket up higher to hide her cheeks.

"That is when some other things happened that I will not speak of, but yes- that is how we met."

Olivia smiled sheepishly and then asked, "Did they talk about us?" She also pointed at herself and Axel.

"Ah, quite often, actually." Gabriel winked at her and Olivia shrugged shyly.

"Yo, Gabriel!" Axel was eager to say something and Jess gave him a straw to expel some of his energy on. "You have any cool stories to tell us? I really wanna hear about the time the Order fought against the Ghasts and End Dragon!"

Gabriel's eyes flashed with an unknown element and then he nodded. "Alright. I'll start with the Nether."

He leaned in closer and the rest leaned in closer to him to hear his story better.

"We were making our way through downtown Stonebrook about twenty years ago, Soren, Magnus, Ellegaard, Iv- and I, when Ellegaard stumbled upon a strange rock that had lodged itself into her boot. We all tried to get it off, but for some strange reason, it would not budge. Magnus even tried exploding the boot and it would not come off."

Axel pretended to shed a single tear.

"After looking around for a while, we found an area with a plethora of those strange rocks. There were thousands of those rocks, and the more there were, the more they all were mixed into a red dust. Then we realized it. We had crossed the obsidian border into the land of the Nether."

Multiple gasps echoed and Gabriel nodded gravely.

"Yes, we knew we were in danger but we had noticed the netherrack was closer to Stonebrook than it should've been. Instead of going back to the city side, we kept venturing further and further into the Nether. We stopped in front of a lava pit, feeling our faces melt. Across the pit was a group of pigmen who stared at us whenever we caught their attention but ignored us. The poor things."

"Do they really look like the pictures in the textbooks?" Jess asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"They do. Deteriorating skin, pink flesh... Truly a work of art, if you were to look at them that way. If only they hadn't decided to experiment on those poor people and animals..."

Both Jesses looked down and Lukas bit his lip.

"Anyway, we were almost nearing the center of the corrupted land, the ground turning into caves that engulfed us, blocking out the sunlight. The only light that we could see was from small patches of glowstone. All of a sudden, multiple ghasts flew by, their cries deafening the air around us. The monstrosities started regurgitating fire charges at our heads, and it took all of our might to dodge and evade them. However, Magnus and Soren weren't very lucky- they had gotten blasted back and were badly hurt. Ellegaard then discovered you could hit the fireballs away using any weapon, similar to baseball, so we all grabbed some nearby rusty swords and repelled the charges. I had hit one back into the air and it struck the ghast, killing it with one blow. A small crystallized tear hit the ground and we all devised a plan to hit the ghasts back with their own charges."

He cleared his throat. "Eventually, we killed the ghasts and collected the tears. Iv- I started making a crude elixir with the tears to speed up Soren's and Magnus's healing- it was difficult since we didn't have a brewing stand on us. We decided to wait for a while before continuing inside. Creating a quick shelter, we hid from the mobs and stayed low, waiting for Magnus and Soren to recover. After a few hours, we continued on our way to the center again, knowing the radiation in the area would eventually damage our health if we didn't hurry. Once we reached the center of the Nether, we found a strange abandoned laboratory which contained these items called 'Eye of Enders.' After going through old entries and research papers, we learned the Eyes were made with Blaze powder and ender pearls, and the process to make them emitted radiation, hence why the Nether had been spreading. The process was automatic and a machine was still creating the Eyes, so we shut it down. We discovered the Eyes were used to open a gate down in Southeast Asia which revealed a tunnel, making a path to something called the Ender Dragon. We had no idea what that was, and we couldn't find any information on it, so we decided once we set up our preparations, we all would go to Asia and discover this 'dragon.' Making sure no one else would be able to enter or use this lab, we took the Eyes and had Magnus destroy some of it."

"This is _so_ cool. The story is kinda long, but it's so worth it!" Lukas was smiling and clenching his hands in excitement.

Gabriel sighed and nodded. "It is quite long. Say, why don't we take a break right here? Let us talk about other things and then later I can continue."

Everyone looked at each other and they shrugged. "Okay," they all said in agreement.

Axel reached out to get a slice of pizza but his hand felt only cardboard. Turning his head, he saw there were no more and he retracted his hand. "Who ate all the pizza?"

Jesse pointed at Jess who pointed at him.

Olivia pointed at Axel himself.

Lukas shrugged.

Gabriel laughed. "No one ate it."

They all looked at the warrior and gave him funny looks. "What?"

Gabriel told them to look underneath the table.

Jesse and Axel looked underneath since they were sitting at the edge and Jesse gasped.

Axel sat up straight again and he held his head. "Oh my gosh, there are so many ANIMALS!"

The other three teens blinked and then looked underneath.

A wide variety of animals, like birds, squirrels, dogs, and cats, were under the table, eating what seemed to be the last slice of pizza.

"How did they even get in here?!" Olivia shrieked, making Lukas cover his ears.

"They just walked in since the door is open," Gabriel chuckled.

"Okay, but like- aren't they cute?" Jess cooed.

"No, they're not!" Olivia said, bringing her legs up and hugging them. "What if they have rabies?!"

"Come on, Liv, they're just normal animals." Jesse laughed. "None of them are foaming at the mouth."

"Look, I'm petting a squirrel!" Axel exclaimed, a wide smile on his face.

A cat jumped onto Lukas's lap and Olivia backed away from him in fright. Lukas looked shocked but then calmed down when the stray started licking its paws. He smiled and scratched behind the cat's ears.

Jess had a couple of birds perched on her shoulders, both singing with quick trills. She started whistling back, using her fingers on her lips to make a trill.

Jesse was being adorably assaulted by a dog who licked his face and didn't stop.

Olivia looked to Gabriel who only shrugged and laughed.

She looked under the table again and saw the pizza lying on the floor, half-eaten. It couldn't just be left there- someone had to clean it up. Making a face, she got some napkins to pick it up and bent over again, reaching for the slice.

Something jumped on her arm and started going up her forearm. Bringing her arm back up, she gasped when she saw the thing.

"SPIDER!"

Pretty soon, there was nobody left in the cafe.

Except Gabriel.

"Kids will always be kids."

He looked at his hands and his smile quickly morphed into a frown. His eyes closed.

"But will they still be kids when I ask them for their help?"

He opened his eyes and took out an old photo from his pocket. "It's almost time to reunite. Maybe we can save the people once more."

He blew away the dust on the Polaroid photo with a wave of his hand and stood up.

"Soren, Ellegaard, Magnus... We'll adventure again."

* * *

 **Longest chapter I've written since chapter 1! Over 3000 words, not including spacers and these author notes!**

 **Just want to say thank you for reading my story and everything :)**

 **Chapters may come out slower once again due to school!**


	14. Chapter 14

****Side note: OMG I WAS ABOUT TO POST THIS CHAPTER WHEN THE LAYOUT CHANGED FOR SOME REASON AND I OPENED IT AGAIN BUT THERE WERE ZERO WORDS AHHH I'M SO GLAD THE OLD VERSIONS SAVED**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

Gabriel had a wide smile on his face when he exited the cafe, much to Olivia's annoyance.

"How can you be smiling right now?! That wasn't funny," she pouted, crossing her arms. Gabriel just laughed and ruffled her hair.

So there they all stood, the six people shuffling their feet outside an abandoned cafe in the dark.

"Well..." Lukas awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Can you continue the story? As we, I don't know, walk to some other place?"

"Oh, I know a good place," Axel said, happily trotting off to the right of the cafe. The others shrugged and followed him.

"Hmm.. Where was I?" wondered Gabriel out loud, holding his chin. He fixed his gray beanie and put his shades back on.

"You were at the part where Magnus blew up the lab and you guys took the Eyes," recalled Lukas. The Jesses nodded. "What he said."

"Ah, that's right. A few months later, after hours and hours of training and preparing, we finally were ready to adventure to Asia and find where the Ender Dragon hid. It wasn't very simple; there hadn't been many clues as to where the Dragon was in the old lab papers. All we knew was that it was in Southeast Asia- so to Southeast Asia we went."

He glanced down at the children beside him, chuckling lightly when he saw they were all looking up at him, eyes wide with interest. "The first stop we took was in Cambodia. We would have started our quest in the Philippines, but we learned the Dragon was hidden underneath mainland Asia. Sadly, we had no time to admire the beautiful sights and wonders of Cambodia– we had to trek through a path that covered Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The reason for starting in Cambodia was because there were these artifacts that we needed to collect, and they were arranged in order on the path. We would not be able to find the artifacts had we gone by car or other transportation. After readying ourselves, we walked down the path, collecting whatever seemed like they would be Dragon artifacts. It took a long time but after a month of walking and mosquitoes, we finally arrived at the hidden archway."

"Hidden archway? What did it look like?" asked Jess, fingers tingling with restlessness.

"It was a large keystone archway, covered in moss and vines so long it seemed like an entrance to a secret garden. The only thing that helped us realize it was the door to the Ender Dragon was a large, carved stone sculpture of an Asian-style dragon, decorated with the natural growth of the earth. Since a large, overgrown gate blocked our path and the archway was much too tall for us to climb over it, we had to painstakingly break the gate with large rocks in the immediate area. Took us a long time, but we did it." He rubbed his hand across his forearm as if remembering the soreness that came shortly after. "We had just gone through the gate when Magnus slipped, making a loud cry that we were sure the birds remember. Soren tried to catch him, but in the process slipped as well. Both started to tumble down a wide stairway that started to take shape, inviting us in. The stairway wasn't a path down to another surface area. It was a path to a large underground cavern that was approximately half a mile beneath the surface. Thankfully, Ellegaard had plenty of spare redstone torches to light our way as we tried to search for the two. We found them at the end of the stairway, but something else had caught our attention."

"The Ender Dragon?!" exclaimed Axel with a sharp gasp. He stopped fidgeting with his hands when he realized how loud he was. "Sorry. Just excited. We're almost there."

Gabriel nodded to say he wasn't affected. "In the cavern were the largest glowing crystals we had ever seen. They weren't manmade, but they weren't exactly natural either. These crystals were three times the size of I and emitted some sort of luminescent light from the cores. The heat around the crystals was also unbearable, scorching to the point where Soren's clothes were burning off when he tried to touch it. The strange rocks were arranged in somewhat of a circle around the perimeter of the cave on top of these tall, black towers which seemed to be obsidian. Naturally, we assumed something was in the center of the cave, so we decided to climb down from the staircase into the heart of the cavern."

"And then Ender Dragon?" Lukas said with hunched shoulders.

"Not yet. Before the Dragon appeared, we found there was a colony of these strange black entities who had no purpose but to pick up items and place them down again. I made the mistake of looking at one of them directly in the eye and it became aggravated. I won't describe how it looked and acted, but it was very strange and frightening."

"Gabriel, the Warrior, frightened?" Olivia gasped in exaggeration. He just side-glanced at her, huffing.

"Anyway, the creatures were tall and slender, similar to man, so Soren dubbed the creatures 'Ender Man' after the Ender Dragon."

"I think 'enderman' flows off the tongue better," Jesse commented, remembering a picture of one of them in his textbooks. Gabriel smiled. "That's what I told him. After a bit of quarreling, we officially called them enderman. As I cut down the enderman, there was a resounding roar behind us and Magnus immediately shouted for us to watch out as he launched a block of TNT into the air. When it exploded, a large black mass fell down and crashed in front of us."

"The Ender Dragon!" the teens exclaimed, all unable to stand still even when they entered the plaza.

"Yes, the Ender Dragon!" He grinned and flashed his pearly whites. "Soren started calling for us to get in our places, and we all started to set up our items. He pulled out his trusty arrow gun and shot twice at the Dragon, making it cry out in anger. It suddenly shot back up and started to fly in the air, circling us. The crystals started to emit this strange beam of light that connected with the Dragon, healing and covering all the damage that we had just done to it. Magnus rapidly fired multiple bunches of dynamite and Ellegaard used her combat drones to aim gas that would weaken it but the Dragon just kept getting healed by the crystals and made all of our attacks in vain. Even when I used my reinforced military sword, it did no damage to the Dragon whatsoever. Then Ivo- _Soren_ got an idea to destroy the crystals first and then take down the beast. He shot two of the crystals with his gun– both of them exploded." The six took a seat in a quiet part of the plaza that was surrounded by trees and bushes. "I threw an iron dagger at one nearby and it also shattered. Magnus attempted to go for the fourth crystal but was knocked over by a strong gust from the Dragon, who then tried to dive down at him. Ellegaard shot a powerful blast of water using her compressed flower grenade which allowed me enough time to run and pick up Magnus before the Dragon crushed him. As I carried him away, he shot two mini-missiles at four crystals, all of which became destroyed, including the missiles themselves. The bombs had sent some of the obsidian in the towers flying, and we all found ourselves taking cover as the sharp rubble started flying towards us. The Dragon was taking considerable damage as well, most of the rocks creating deep gashes in the creature. It became angered once again and Soren reflexively shot a large net over its head, giving us more time to get away from it. Ellegaard used this time to fly three of her small drones over to the last crystals, calling out for us to get down as she pressed the self-destruct button. The force of the blasts made the crystals split apart into small pieces which we all attempted to avoid along with the Dragon. Not long after, the Ender Dragon broke free from the net and rained hell and fury on us when it started to breathe a flurry of purple fire. None of us were prepared for that and we felt ourselves melting, screaming out in pain as the fire burned our skin. Ellegaard threw another flower grenade, but with compressed carbon dioxide this time, preventing the fire from reaching us and cooling our charred bodies down. She launched two more bombs into the Dragon's gaping mouth, stopping it from breathing fire altogether and rendering it vulnerable to attacks. Since the crystals were no longer intact, the bombs had done a substantial amount of damage to the being, and I saw this as our chance to brute-force our way through. Soren kept it down on the ground with a taut grappling hook, firing a barrage of arrows and needles. Ellegaard also shot plenty of arrows, throwing in some bullet drones. Magnus wrapped its flailing legs and tail with a large display of fireworks and TNT and set it off, disabling the Dragon. That's when I climbed up the back of the Dragon and drove my best sword into the crook of its neck, slaying the scaled beast. We stood there for a long while, reveling in our victory. What we hadn't realized was the exit portal that had formed behind us and the dragon egg that rested atop the column of bedrock. All fi- four of us were busy tending to our wounds and taking in the sight of the fallen Dragon. Although it was no longer alive, it was a beautiful thing. Such a shame that we had to fight it. The scaly skin and wings were gorgeous, a wonderful black-purple theme that shimmered in the light. The Dragon itself was a beauty. After admiring the scales and patterns of the creature, we set off to find the exit. We simply turned around and saw the portal. With careful managing, we took the rough dragon egg and exited the cavern, which we now called 'The End.' We took our findings back to the States and kept them in our treasure room."

"Man, I wish I could have seen Magnus's TNT skills!" Axel blurted out, almost hopping in his spot on the bench.

"I'm sure Ellegaard's drones and grenades were amazing!" Olivia expressed with wide gesticulations.

Lukas threw in his two cents. "Soren was smart to carry those extra tools, like the grappling hook and net thrower. Would have been much harder to fight the Dragon without those."

"I thought it was cool that you used only short-range weapons. You were able to hit a crystal from far away with a dagger!" Jesse clapped, unable to stop squirming. He was much too excited to sit as calmly as Gabriel or Lukas was.

"You got Magnus out of danger, too! I thought that was cool of you," Jess smiled.

Gabriel shook his head and laughed. "But none of this could have happened without the rest of the Order. Everyone played a part in the journey." He furrowed his brow and turned to dig for something in his pocket. "Tell you what, how about all of you have something from our adventure?"

The Jesses gasped and everyone's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Of course! Now, you may all choose from these things."

The man pulled out a variety of small collectibles ranging from small crystals to shards of obsidian. There were also ender pearls and one Dragon scale. One of the artifacts was also in the pile, a small double wing stone design that fit perfectly as a ring.

After long moments of contemplation, Olivia took two ender pearls and weaved them onto a piece of string, making a loose bracelet that wrapped comfortably around her left wrist. Axel took some crystal and obsidian shards and also made a bracelet for his right hand. Jesse took one ender pearl and the last four crystal and obsidian shards, making a keychain-like loop. The last items left were two ender pearls and the Ender Dragon scale. Jess and Lukas were the only ones who hadn't chosen what they wanted yet.

Jess could see Lukas eye the scale and the ender pearls, and it was obvious he couldn't choose between them as he wanted Jess to get something as well. She sighed, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth. The large Dragon scale was one-fourth her hand, so it wouldn't be a problem. She split the scale into two and put the scales on long pieces of string, holding them in place with an ender pearl each.

"For both of us," she smiled as she handed one of the necklaces to Lukas. He took the necklace and looked at her, almost as if he was unsure of accepting it. "Take it," she said, "I insist."

His face softened and he held the necklace to his chest. "Thanks, Jess." They both wore the necklaces and Gabriel beamed with pride.

"You all look great with those on. It's a good thing I decided to save those for a later date."

Jess bowed, a smirk on her face. "Why, thank you for realizing how fabulous we were."

"Settle down, sister Jesse," bellowed Gabriel, "you weren't even born yet when I decided that."

They all laughed. Then Jess started making a crazy theory how Gabriel could simply feel her presence around him when he decided that, and when he made his mind, she retreated and entered her mother's womb a few years later. Gabriel just called her silly.

"She's always silly. Sometimes I don't even know why we're related," Jesse joked, making Lukas exhale through his nose.

"Sometimes I feel like you two are way too similar!"

"That's 'cause you don't know them well enough," Axel said, frowning. Olivia snickered and playfully socked Lukas's shoulder. "Eventually you'll see that male Jesse is the one who constantly needs help opening a poptart wrapper."

Jesse gasped loudly and he grabbed Olivia's arm. "Olivia! How could you do that to me?!"

She simply started cracking up, slightly leaning into Axel as she did, clenching the edge of the bench for support. Jess couldn't help but giggle as well, Olivia's laugh being contagious. Ultimately, she started laughing as well, holding onto Jesse's shoulder. Lukas shrugged and he started lightly laughing as well, hands in his jacket pockets. Jesse and Axel looked at each other, unsure what to do.

Gabriel started howling, smacking his knee with one hand as he laughed, enjoying the laughter. Since Gabriel was laughing as well, Axel and Jesse officially had no idea what to do and they slumped over in defeat.

After a while, they calmed down and left the plaza, talking one last time with Gabriel.

"So, how long are you going to be in Stonebrook?" Axel asked.

Gabriel fixed his beanie. "About two weeks, I presume."

"Are we going to see you again?" Lukas asked, slightly leaning forward in interest.

"I believe so." He didn't answer any more than that, except a single grin.

"Okay, then. See you later, Gabriel!" Jesse waved to the Warrior and started going home. Jess ran to catch up with him and waved as she followed.

The others slowly broke apart and all bid temporary farewells to the previous Order member, leaving him standing alone in the deserted plaza with the trees and the bushes. He stood there with a bright smile on his face.

"Maybe they'll get together and form a group just like we did."

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay, but like I said, school! Also I may have limited access to a computer now sooo... um yeah**

 **I'm sorry that this chapter is also more background story stuff, but hey, it's interesting to see how this all happened and such! Also if you've done/watched up to Episode 4, you would know why this story is important :)**

 **Thanks for following this fanfic!**

 **Meow Shadow - Thanks! ;3 And yeah, the sentence is actually correct in terms of tenses, but I was supposed to switch the order oops xD thanks for telling me!**

 **RapidSammi - I would put a heart emoticon here but for some reason, Fanfiction doesn't seem to like the arrow**

 **Guest - *quietly chants* snow white au snow white au (but seriously tho i didn't even notice that xD)**

 **AquaK13 - Not much in this one but there's that one kinda small Lukesse moment! lol**


	15. Chapter 15

**Trying to show many different aspects of the lives of these people- not every moment is exciting and heart-throbbing xD**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

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Rain.

It was raining.

During the end of summer.

Jess had a sudden indescribable attraction to the small drops trickling down the edge of their French porch door. Why was the light bending within the tiny water droplets so interesting to her? For some reason, the vivid visual of the droplets splitting apart and skittering down the tempered glass was captivating and had completely enamored the bright-eyed girl. She surprisingly was enjoying the sight of the rain on the blurred windows.

Wasn't there a word on _The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows_ for this?

... Oh, yeah, it was 'ambedo.'

Hm. She'd also forgotten today was a Saturday.

Two weeks ago, they all left the plaza and said goodbye to Gabriel. She didn't think it wise to try and contact him in this weather– so what else could she do?

Trying to fool around with her brother wouldn't work. He was fast asleep and she didn't want to wake him from his deep slumber. Also, waking him up would probably need an air horn, and Aunt Carrie was also in bed, meaning she would probably wake up an irritated Aunty as well. (Aunt Carrie had returned on a temporary break as her team's equipment was damaged and needed to be repaired.)

All she could do was wait until after 8 A.M. What an unlucky person she was, waking up at 5 in the morning while everyone else was still asleep. Not to mention the fact that it was raining. She couldn't exactly leave the apartment for a quick walk and come back. (The rain was probably hot too, seeing as it was still summer.)

She got up from her bed and hugged the walls of the room, feeling the cold surface for the light switch. Making sure the light was set to a low brightness with the bar, she flicked the lever. A dim, white light shone down on her face, making it seem oily although it wasn't.

Jess narrowed her eyes. It was still fairly dark in the room, but she had grown accustomed to the darkness, and the light was now hindering her sight. Blinking a few times before attempting to look around again, she shut the light off.

"Forget it," she mumbled under her breath. A sigh escaped from her lips and she opened the door, walking into her hallway. She wove through the obstacles she couldn't really make out in the dark and grabbed a glass cup. Hot rain really made you thirsty.

The cool liquid left the cup as soon as it was filled up. She swallowed the water quickly, leaving no drop behind.

It just came to mind that she was standing in the kitchen with no pants on, only her button-up, long-sleeved pajama shirt and underwear.

 _Whatever_ , she thought. She filled up the glass with water again.

Taking it back to her room, she set it on the nightstand and wrapped herself in her uncomfortably warm blankets, staring out the porch door again. Watching the rain fall for another two hours wasn't so bad. She had already done it for fifteen minutes.

Her phone vibrated where it lay next to her cup or water. Curious, she reached for her Cloud and checked the notification, scrunching her eyes together when the brightness practically blinded her. After lowering the brightness to a tolerable level, she read the notification, secretly hoping it wasn't some boring "You have mail!" announcement.

As if her prayers were heard, it was a text from Lukas. What could he be doing this early in the day?

 _Hey. Idk if you're asleep but wanna call? Can't sleep._

She smiled in a reluctant yet acquiescent fashion. At least she would be doing something despite it being early in the day.

Her fingers tapped the screen, flying across the virtual keyboard. _Y_ _ou can't sleep either? Sure, let's call._

She waited for him to read the message and switched to her phone app after telling him she would have to call since her family was asleep– would've been hard to explain why she was up so early and why her ringtone was the loudest ringtone ever created in the universe.

 _Why don't you put your phone on vibrate?_ he asked, his message appearing on a banner at the top of her screen.

 _I need it to stay on or else I'm going to forget to turn it back on_ , she answered. Hopefully, that was enough.

He just replied with 'mk' and so she called him, waiting for him to pick up.

After a couple of rings, his low voice tickled her ear. " _Hey, Jesse._ "

"You might want to start referring to me as Jess instead," she said quietly, a small smirk forming on her face, "it'll get real confusing trying to call one twin or the other."

" _Fine, I'll call you Jess from now._ " He made a small chuckle. " _Okay with that?_ "

She nodded, then she remembered she was on the phone and he couldn't see her body language. "Mhm," she hummed. "So, why can't you sleep?"

She listened to his breathing for a bit before he replied, " _I don't know, honestly. I just can't sleep right now. I'm lucky you were even awake at this time. What about yourself?_ "

"I'm not sure, either. I think I just can't, at the moment. Also, the rain is getting super warm, so maybe that's why. I've always been better with colder temperatures. Jay can live with the heat, but I can't."

" _This rain has been putting me in a reading mood. I've noticed many people like to read on rainy days, including myself._ "

"Hm? What type of books do you read?" Honestly, Jess thought he would appreciate some literature, seeing as he previously was a theater nerd, but she didn't think he read often. She thought up a silent apology in her head.

" _I read a lot of stuff. Series like_ Divergent _, old stories like_ Crime and Punishment _, and even the_ Warriors _books._ "

"The books with the warrior cats?"

He made a small hum.

"I read those, too! Spottedleaf will always be my favorite cat."

" _I really liked Bluestar. She was always thinking about her clan._ "

There was a bit of silence between the both of them as they both listened to the rain drizzle. Then Lukas asked her an interesting question.

" _Hey, Jess... Do you believe in fate?_ " His soft, rhythmical breathing matched with her heartbeat, the thrums echoing in her head as she tried to find the right answer.

"I... hmm. It depends, I guess. Meeting a certain person or being involved in an incident is what I would call fate. However, the idea of 'you were born to be this, so be it' or 'you're predicted to die in two months'? I don't believe in that. I think you can carve your own destiny. That's it. Destiny is for yourself and fate is for everything that happens outside you."

Once again, there was silence.

" _You know, Jess... that's actually a really good way of putting it. I've always thought that fate affected you and everything around you and that there were some moments where you could bend it slightly, but I never thought of destiny being what affects you._ "

Jess inhaled lightly and exhaled. "Why are you asking me this?"

" _Well, I... i-it's nothing. I was just wondering._ "

She lifted an eyebrow and blinked a couple times. "O... kay?" Clearing her throat, she decided to switch to another subject. "So, what did you do after we all split up yesterday?"

" _Funny you should ask that. I actually ran into Petra a few minutes after I had left the plaza in front of the street._ "

"Really? Hope she wasn't mad about me not calling her to meet Gabriel. I was gonna introduce her another day."

" _I told her about Gabriel, and she wasn't mad. She sounded intrigued about the whole thing, though. What I really want to talk about is how she was acting._ "

Jess leaned forward in bed and pressed the phone to her cheek tighter. "Wait, what do you mean?"

" _She was acting kind of strange, Jesse- Jess, sorry. I don't know what it was, but she talked as if she was really tired and she couldn't even remember my name at one point. When I asked her about what she did during the day, she said, 'I don't know, why am I here?' Not only that, the coloration of her collarbone area was sickly. It basically looked like wilted flower petals._ "

"Whaddya mean, 'wilted flower petals'?" she almost shouted, immediately lowering her voice back down to a whisper.

" _She looked like a zombie. It was like she had been dead for the past month and then suddenly was revived but her body didn't catch up. You could see her_ veins _, Jess. Her veins. They were a dark purple color._ "

Her nose crinkled. "'Wilted flower petals' is a really poetic way to describe a person who looks like they've been in the morgue for several weeks. What do you think is wrong with her?"

" _Well, from what I saw, I'm guessing she hasn't been eating well and getting enough sun. Maybe even not enough sleep. But I don't think so... It seemed much more complicated than that._ "

"Her condition sounds really bad..." she trailed off, stealing a glance at her brother. He was lying on his side now, an arm thrown over his covers. What would he do when he found out? "Lukas, I have to ask something of you."

" _Um, sure, what is it?_ "

She lowered her voice to an almost incoherent mumble. "Please don't tell anyone else."

" _Huh? Why? The others need to know about Petra! Maybe they can help with finding what's wrong with her._ "

She shook her head, gritting her teeth when she remembered again that she was on a call. "No, it's... it's not that simple, Lukas. You don't understand."

Jess heard him huff and then exhale. " _Alright, then explain._ "

"Basically..." she stole another peek at Jay, "okay. Well, you know Petra and my brother and I are very close. We've known each other since we were two. Recently, I've been noticing that Jay spaces out when we talk about Petra and he's been very happy when he spends time with her."

" _Are you about to say what I think you're going to say?_ " There were sounds of him shifting around on whatever he was sitting/laying on.

"Maybe. He's completely infatuated with Petra and he doesn't even know he is. I'm sure of it."

" _Close enough. But what does he have to do with not telling anyone?_ "

"Well, if you told Olivia and Axel, they would immediately tell us, and that means Jay would find out. And..." She sighed. "He's always been very protective of Petra and me, plus the others as well. But now that he's head over heels for her? He might take the news worse."

" _He might, but he still deserves the right to know about it, doesn't he?_ "

"You don't get it, Lukas. I'm his sister– I know him like I know the back of my hand, and sometimes I don't even know myself! It's hard to explain how he'll react, but I can tell you he won't take it lightly. He'd probably overreact and get himself hurt in the process. Jay's a tough guy, but he's still a human. He's still my brother."

" _... I'll keep this a secret._ "

Jess smiled weakly. "Thanks, Lukas. I appreciate it."

" _No problem. Hey, do you mind coming over to my house?_ "

The emerald-eyed girl reeled back and made a face. "Why? And at this time? While it's raining?"

" _Things are more fun when the sky is dark, you have to admit. And I just want to hang out with you for a bit before your family wakes up. I don't think I can go to your place since they're sleeping._ "

"Lukas, it's 5:45 in the morning. The sun hasn't even risen yet. I don't have an umbrella on me. Also, where's your family?!" She said the last question in a whisper-shout, checking to make sure Jay was still sleeping.

" _I know it's dark, but I can come and pick you up if you tell me where your house is. And my dad starts work at 4:30. My mom is out of town for the meantime. Come on, let's hang out for a bit!_ "

She wasn't so sure about this. Too many stories had been passed around in 8th grade and freshman year about people who went to their friends' house and were found in several different conditions- none of them good. "I'm not comfortable with this, Lukas. I mean, you're asking me to come over to your house during a bad time while your parents are out."

" _Woah, okay, I would never do whatever you're thinking of right now! I literally just want to hang out, woman! Nothing of that sort!_ "

Him saying that with his own voice relaxed Jess, and she exhaled a breath she hadn't really known she was even holding. "Okay. Fine. If you pick me up, I'll chill for a bit at your place. But you have to drop me off back home before 7:30, alright? No later than that!"

" _You're perfectly fine in my hands, Jess. I'll take care of you._ "

"What's that supposed to mean?" she laughed, suppressing it to stay quiet.

" _It means I'll protect you from the monsters of the night, that's what._ " His voice had gone completely stern, but Jess hadn't noticed it.

She giggled and got out of her bed to get dressed. "Dork. I'm old enough to protect myself. Well, I'll see you in a bit. I have to get dressed, so bye for now!" She resisted the urge to wave to empty space.

" _See ya in a bit._ "

Jess pulled the phone away from her face, pressing the large red button to end the call. Tracing her fingers along her cheek, she felt the small recesses in her skin that were made by her phone.

"Was I really holding it that hard?" she whispered to herself, suddenly becoming more aware of herself. She looked down at her hands in the dark, noticing they were glistening in the faint moonlight. "I'm literally sweating. I better not grasp my phone too tightly next time," she verbally noted. Wiping her hands on her shirt, she carefully grabbed her phone again and texted Lukas her address.

Changing into her clothes, she walked into the bathroom, washed her face, and looked at herself in the mirror. The plain, short red and white T-shirt that exposed her stomach with her normal blue jeans were enough. After wearing her red sneakers, she brushed her hair, untangling the sweaty mess-of-a-bird's-nest on her head. It was fairly easy but if she hadn't brushed it, she would have walked out the apartment looking like someone shoved a Molotov cocktail into her hair. Grabbing her signature yellow hairclip, she fixed her bangs so they stayed up and out of her eyes. There. All done. Now she just had to wait for Lukas to come.

She grabbed a cardigan and put it on, then shoving her phone and a few other things into her pockets. Waiting a few moments, she snuck out of the room and out of the apartment room, taking every step warily as if she was about to step on a landmine. As soon as she was out of the immediate area of the door, she bolted out of the building to the front of the apartments, staying underneath the overhang to shield herself from the now-pouring deluge.

A few moments of waiting and shivering later, a navy blue sports car pulled into the parking lot, the lights blinding her for a split second. The driver's door opened and out walked the Ocelot leader in his signature leather jacket and purple shirt. A pair of tinted aviator sunglasses were resting on his nose, little droplets splashing on the lens since he was standing in the rain, and he tilted them down to look at Jess.

"Hey."

* * *

 **People may complain that there's too much dialogue in this story, but the relationships between the characters are just as important as what they are thinking and what happens! :)**

 **And besides, this is a cool way of learning more about the characters and their lives within this AU!**

Meow Shadow - **lmao go for it! Use the quote and make a story based off this AU, I don't mind! Just a small credit section would be nice. True, HS stories are very intriguing for some reason. (It's okay! Your reviews make me happy haha I'm glad people are liking this fic)**

RapidSammi - **Poor Jesse. He didn't deserve to get the shade xD and all Axel wanted was to keep his friends close**

NinaNaranja - **He looks kinda cute in one haha. Dammit Telltale why are they so similar ;_; And thank you for waiting! *insert heart emoji bc fanfiction doesn't let me use the arrow key***

sailor . mikuchan - **Tbh I was laughing my butt off by imagining Jesse trying to pull open a poptart wrapper but I was in the library so the teacher gave me an evil glare until I stopped xD**


	16. Chapter 16

**Took me a while to get this out, but I've finally done it! Sorry if it drags on and on but I do everything for a reason ;)  
** **Also longest chapter ever? It's like 3500 words?**

 **Also random stuff but HEY I ADDED A COVER THING TO THIS STORY! it's not colored but who cares it's kool**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"Hey," she smirked, eyeing his sunglasses. "It's dark. What d'ya need those things for?"

Lukas took off his sunglasses and folded them, hanging them on his shirt. "I just have trouble seeing in the car, so I have these prescription glasses which also happen to be sunglasses." He shrugged.

"Oh," she grinned, repressing the want to giggle. "I thought you were trying to be a little extra, if you know what I mean. Like, impressing me or something."

His face turned into a surprised expression and he gawked at her. "Wh-What, no, I wasn't- no-"

Jess let herself go, laughing at his sudden change in mood. (Not in a rude way, of course.) "You really are a dork. Come on, let's get going before I wake up the entire neighborhood."

She opened the passenger door and slipped into the car before the rain could hit her, closing the car door behind her. She lowered her head to get a better look at the blonde's face. "Sit down. You're getting wet."

He blinked for a while before consciously realizing he was still standing in the warm rain. "Oh, yeah. Um, sorry." He stepped into the car and shut the door. Wiping the raindrops off his sunglasses, he brushed off some water on his jacket and turned the car on. "You'll like my house, it's really cozy. Plus we have a fireplace if you'd like to light it."

"I'd like that, thank you." _Although it's warmer than the Nether_ , the girl thought. She pulled her seatbelt over her and they drove out of the parking lot. "So where is your house?"

Lukas turned the corner and accelerated slightly. "It's not too far from your place actually, just a couple miles from here. It's near Emerald Park."

"Oh, Emerald! I remember going there a lot when I was with my uncle during school instead. Jay and I would climb a lot of trees and try to... try to..."

Her face fell and Lukas glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry. It's just... It's been three years and I still haven't gotten over him."

He opened his mouth to say something but only silence came out. Then he took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head and smiled. "It's fine. Maybe it was fate that he left."

"I think things could've been different had I been there." Jess looked up at the male with tired eyes. He continued talking, eyes on the road. "I should've canceled my appointment with my friend."

"Shut up, Lukas." The stated male widened his eyes, a little shocked that she just straight-up called him out like that. "Sorry, I know that sounded kind of rude but it wasn't your fault. Maybe he needed to leave so something else could be set in motion. Now that I've said that, let's not talk about this anymore. It's only six— I'd rather be skinny dipping instead of crying in a car."

He tried hard to not imagine that last part. Very hard. Somehow he managed.

"Anyway, how is your family like? Are they cool?" She gave him a warm smile and held her hands together, resting them on her lap.

Lukas nodded and stopped at a traffic light. "They're very kind. I really look up to them. Everything they do is always out of their heart and I just want to be that type of person."

"They sound like nice people. My side of the family contains boisterous people. I'm sure you can tell just from Jay and me," she joked. "My dad is crazy and always plays his Italian music super loudly and my mom-"

"Wait," said the cyan-eyed boy as he accelerated again, "you're Italian?"

"Yeah. I'm half Italian and Caucasian. _I make ze perfect spaghetti_ ," she imitated, bursting into laughter not long after. Lukas tried not to laugh a lot since he was driving and his glasses were slipping off his nose.

"That's really cool! I'm just a normal Caucasian dude whose parents immigrated from Europe."

"Where in Europe?"

"France and the UK. They both came to America when they were young, though."

"Interesting. My mom lived in Europe for a few years but she wanted to go back to America. That's when she met my dad in one of Italy's international airports. How did your parents meet?"

He slowed to a stop when he noticed a pedestrian on the sidewalk. Motioning for them to walk, he looked at Jess. "They've never told me specifically, but it was something along the lines of taking a boat across a channel and falling over the edge. I think it was my dad who fell over and my mom who dove in to save him."

"Dramatic. It's like a telenovela."

"I guess," he laughed, reaching for the radio. He turned it on with a quick _click_ and an iHeartRadio channel came on- "This Is What You Came For" was currently playing.

"What an overplayed song," he said, yet a smile formed on his face. Jess looked at him with a goofy smirk and starting circling her chest, hands gesticulating as she sang every word of the song.

He kept his eyes on the road but started laughing. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing- duh." She kept rolling her hands, one over the other, and ignored his laughs as she continued dancing to the beat. A grin was now permanently pasted to her face when she saw Lukas giving her a strange, indecipherable look.

"You're weird," he said as he pulled into the driveway. "Well, welcome to my place."

Her eyes flicked around as she studied his house. It was a tan color, outlined with white on the porch and edges of the garage door. The yard was clean with no signs of weeds or lack of care. Jess tilted her head slightly and rubbed her eyes when she saw the top of the house. She'd thought it was a two-story house! But no, there was _another_ story plus a window in the attic, meaning it was used for something. Overall, it was very large and amazing.

"A three-story house? What do you guys even do up there?" she asked, leaning back.

"My parents also work at home, so they use the second floor as their workrooms and the third floor has the bedrooms."

"Must be a pain in the ass to walk all the way up there."

Lukas widened his eyes at her use of language. She noticed and covered her mouth with two fingers.

"Oops. Excuse my French," she smiled. "Forgot you haven't exactly heard me curse yet. You're gonna have to get used to it."

"You never cease to surprise me," he exhaled with slightly wide eyes, opening the garage door with a remote.

Lukas parked the car in the garage and closed the door behind him. They exited the car and entered his house.

"Wow," the green-eyed girl breathed, "I've... I've never seen a house this big before. I know it's a three-story house but I didn't think it would be this wide either."

The living room was _huge_ , not to mention the grand piano sitting to the side of the sofas and couches. And no, it wasn't a baby grand piano. It was an actual grand piano with the hood that could be lifted up and everything. In the front center of the living room was a coffee table and burgundy couches that surrounded it- above on the wall was the TV. In the back center of the living room was the fireplace and a couple of rocking chairs nearby.

"Are your parents rich or something?" she asked, one eyebrow lifting.

He laughed. "Pfft, what? No. This house was pretty expensive. We just lucked out when we bought it."

"Where'd you live before?" she asked as she traced her finger on one of the couches.

"Well, in Bedrock Hills. Have I told you that?"

Her jaw dropped. "Bedrock Hills? What do you mean, you're not rich? Houses there cost an arm, leg, and your soul for a small price of $6.66!"

Lukas almost cackled when he heard her last sentence. "We didn't buy that house. We just moved in with my uncle who is the actual rich one. I used to live in another house here in Stonebrook before I moved into my uncle's place."

"Oh," Jess hummed. It was true that she knew this already, but she didn't want to give away that she had lurked on his Instagram with her brother. Obviously, it would sound a little creepy. "Where was your old house?"

"Nearby Stonebrook Elementary. Before it was taken down and relocated to what is now Stonebrook _High_ , of course."

"Wait, did you go to Stonebrook Elementary?" she said, kind of cutting off what Lukas was about to say. If this was her chance to learn more about him, then maybe this was it. She wasn't going to use the information as blackmail, not anymore.

He nodded and took a seat on the sofa, gesturing for her to sit next to him. She sat next to him, watching him speak. "Yeah. I went there from preschool to second grade. Then I had to move in with my uncle." He scrunched his brow. "Let me clarify. In second grade, my dad was stationed at a new area nearby Bedrock Hills, so he had to move there. My mom and my dad had separate houses at the time, not because they were divorced or anything, just separate places. My mom didn't exactly have enough money to pay for her house _and_ take care of me, so I went to live with my dad in my uncle's place."

He made small hand movements as he spoke more. "I went to school there at Avayon Elementary and Diamond Ridge Middle School. I visited my mom frequently. Then, this summer, my dad switched jobs and was able to return to Stonebrook, so in celebration, my parents bought this house and moved in together."

"When did you meet Aiden and the other Ocelots?" It was a weird question to ask, seeing as her relationship with them was still strained, but she was still curious. Also, she had forgotten what the names of the other two were. Again.

He looked at her, actually seeming happy that she was asking all these random things. "Here, in Stonebrook. We went to Stonebrook Elementary together. I met them halfway through kindergarten. When I moved, they also had to move to different areas as well, so we weren't expecting each other at Diamond Ridge. We did meet up during the weekends and summer vacation, but we hadn't seen this coming. We all came back to Stonebrook this summer."

"Close friends you got," she remarked, thinking nothing of it.

He looked down at his lap and sighed. "They're the closest to being my best friends."

"What does that mean?"

"I had a great friend in preschool and part of kindergarten. She was... so nice and funny."

 _Is this the girl he talked about on his Instagram?_ Jess thought, keeping her mouth shut in order to learn all she could.

He reached behind him to scratch an imaginary itch. "I haven't seen her since kindergarten, but I still remember her. I feel bad because I never saw her after then, and I had no chance to go find her and tell her I was moving. I don't even know if she remembers me."

She racked her brain for something to say. "What was her name? Maybe I know her."

"This is such a coincidence, but... her name was Jesse."

Jess's eyes widened in surprise. "Woah. That really is. What did she look like?"

"Even bigger coincidence. She had black hair, green eyes and a yellow hairclip that I gave her which looks exactly like yours. Where'd you get it, by the way?"

Her hand instinctively reached for her hairclip. "I actually don't know. I think I just found it and decided to wear it or something. I've had it all my life– even my parents don't know where I got it."

"I wish I could say you were my friend from back then, but I know you're not." He pointed at the tangible difference. "You have a different last name and you don't have the birthmark on her shoulder either. Plus, your eyes are a different shade of green."

"With all the stuff you gave her, she sounds really special to you," Jess said, tucking loose hair behind her ear.

"She was and still is. If only I knew where she was now."

She put her hands in between her thighs and scrunched her face as she racked her head. After a few moments of silence and listening to the now-soft thrumming of the rain on his windows.

"What if... I help you find this girl?"

She felt a small jerk from Lukas and turned to see him with wide eyes. "You'd help me? I don't even think she's still here. She always told me she had dreams of living in San Gabriel."

"Just tell me her last name," she insisted, tugging on his leather jacket.

He sighed in surrender and lowered his arm on top of the sofa cushions. "Okay. Her last name was Blair Moriyadi. Jesse Blair Moriyadi."

"Huh." Jess stared at the coffee table and tapped her chin. "My dad's name is Blair. I don't have Moriyadi in my surnames, though."

"I have strange foreshadowing predictions coming on..." Lukas said with a squinty face, staring into the empty space above him.

Both of them laughed and Lukas glanced at the clock. "Six twenty-five. How am I supposed to have quality time with you if you're leaving at seven-thirty?"

"Quality time? You're making it sound like as if I was your girlfriend."

He turned flustered out of surprise and drew his arm on top of the sofa away. "What? Jess, I barely know you! I don't even know what side of school you enter from!"

She started laughing and slapped her knee. "I'm joking, Lukas. You'll see that from me a lot. And for your information, I enter from the back gate."

"Speaking of me knowing close to nothing about you, why don't you tell me where you went for elementary and middle school? I did so; it would only seem fair if you told me as well."

The emerald-eyed girl leaned back, resting her head on the sofa arm. "I was a little surprised when you told me you went to Stonebrook Elementary," she only slightly lied, "because I went there as well. I don't know how I never saw you, but perhaps it was because you moved at an early time."

"You also went to Stonebrook Elementary? What the heck?"

She chuckled. "I know, right? Well, I also went to Silverskye Middle School which isn't as cool as Diamond Ridge. But it's where I met some people like Gabriel and Vienna, so I couldn't be any happier I went there." Jess moved her hair out of her face again. "Cheesy, I know."

"It's not cheesy," he said, turning his body to look at her. "It's good to be thankful for people you meet."

"And I thought I was being cheesy," she snorted, poking Lukas's nose.

His face flushed a light pink color and he made a pouty face. "I was just trying to be inspirational and nice."

She smirked. "Well, now that we've learned about each other, let's go do something! I wanna check out your place," she chirped. Getting up from the sofa, she ran off through a doorway without waiting for the blonde who was frantically trying to stand up. He wobbled back and forth as he tried to balance himself and stretched his hand, calling out, "Wait! Jess, where are you going?"

He caught up with her and found her kneeling in front of a fish tank, keeping her eyes on an angelfish which darted by her face. "Oh. Nice fish, aren't they?"

"You're feeding them too much."

Lukas scratched his head. She was pointing at the fish that had passed by. "How did you know that?"

"All the uneaten food on the floor."

"You're the fish expert, I guess."

"Well, I do live on a farm, so I guess it counts."

He attempted to raise an eyebrow but kind of failed and raised both of them instead. "You live on a farm? I thought you lived in your apartment."

"This is something else I've forgotten to tell you." She started thinking about her home back on the farm and thought of how her parents were doing. "I was born here but my house is actually down south. My parents let Jay and I live with our relatives here in the city during the school year, and when summer comes, we go back home. We have a ton of animals and crops and there's even a lake nearby. So, yeah, I might be a fish expert."

"There's a lot I don't know about you. Makes me scared what I might learn next," he joked, smiling at her.

"Nothing is that bad, I promise. At least, I think so," Jess added. Then she got up again and ran off, going towards the kitchen.

This happened for a few more times in different areas of the first floor before she decided she wanted to see Lukas's room.

"My room? Oh, us, we can just skip it. I don't really have anything important in there."

She side-glanced at him. "Are you just saying that to keep me out or are you being serious?"

"I'm being honest, or serious as you say. It's just a typical boy's room."

"Still wanna check it out," she winked, running up both flights of stairs with seemingly endless stamina. Lukas chased after her, almost tripping on one of the steps.

"Really, Jess, it's nothing special!" he nervously laughed, blocking his doorway by standing in front of it. "I'm just not keen on people looking in my room."

Jess looked down the hallway of doors. "Well, I honestly didn't know which one was your room, but now I do." She walked up and stared at him. "Let me in," asserted she, reaching under his arm to open the door. Although he tried to gently jostle her arm away, she had already opened it. The door swung open to reveal a light blue room with everything a typical boy would have: comics, a computer, an Xbox, a Wii, a PlayStation, a bunch of random posters, etc. It was fairly clean and neat, much to her surprise. She also didn't expect the giant blow-up doll of Petra with her everyday outfit leaning on the bedside cabinet.

"Why... is that there?" Her finger was pointing at it but it slowly fell as her own jaw did. "Do I even want to know?"

Lukas froze and just flicked his eyes back and forth between the doll and Jess. "I- um, how do I explain this?"

Jess's own face turned into a threatening anger and she pushed him back with a finger on his chest. "You better explain, and pronto!"

"It's because of a deal I made with Olivia!" he blurted, putting his hands in the air. "This isn't mine, but I had to buy it for Olivia! Don't take this the wrong way!"

She took a step back and gasped. "Olivia? _Olivia_ wanted this? What was this deal?!"

"Four days ago, we were betting on whether this person would get owned by Petra or not and they did, so Olivia won. She told me to buy a blow-up doll of Petra and to keep it in my room for a month."

Jess almost gagged and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I think I might throw up... I've never seen this side of her before."

"I didn't know she was like this either. Sorry for, you know, that thing..." he indirectly pointed at the Petra-fied doll (Jess smirked when she made the admittedly terrible pun).

"It's okay. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I don't really know you that well, so I just naturally assumed the worst."

"I'm not that kind of guy, trust me," he chuckled, leaning against the door frame. "Now, is there something you wanna see since you opened the door despite my pleading?"

She nodded. Then she made a thoughtful face. "Actually, how about we play some of your Wii games?"

"Uh, like what?"

"I see you have..." She started sorting through his bookshelf of games and pulled out the ones that interested her. "Ooh, how about Super Smash Bros. Brawl?"

Lukas cracked a grin and grabbed his Wii remote. "You're on."

Tossing another controller to Jess, he put in the CD and turned on his TV. They started a round, with Lukas as Marth and Jess as Pikachu.

A few minutes later and Jess got the Smash Ball, sending Lukas flying with her Final Smash move. He left the view of the camera and lost his final life, announcing Pikachu as the winner.

"GG," he smiled, extending his hand out to Jess. She shook it and smirked. "You're not half bad yourself."

He shrugged. "I play with the guys a lot."

"Another round?" She glanced at him.

He nodded, gripping his controller. "Another round."

* * *

 **I have no idea why I struggled so much with this chapter** **errghgh**

Meow Shadow - **somuchfeelsiwantitall – also yes, I did know about that, hence why Lukas said he disliked ice lakes in an earlier chapter when Jess and him kind of first talked :D**

RapidSammi **\- JETRA AND LUKESSE!**

NinaNaranja - **Who said it was wither sickness hmmmm (also the main reason why I had them mention the Warriors series is because Lukas is the leader of the ocelots and Warriors has a bunch of cats so huehuehue)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Tell me, would it be easier to differentiate the twins by _Jay_ and _Jess_ or is everyone okay with _Jesse_ and _Jess_? Keep in mind that different people call them different things.**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

 _Pitter, patter_.

 _Pitter, patter_.

 _Pitter, glup! Patter._

Jesse blinked. It was raining?

He pushed himself up with tired arms and stared at the porch window, waiting for his eyesight to focus. When it did, he could see the sky a vivid expanse of orange and red, meaning the sun was rising. The little droplets on the windows told of showering.

What time was it? He rubbed his eyes and grabbed his Cloud. 6:30 AM. It was still very early in the morning.

He turned his head, sneaking a glance at Jess. Wait a minute–

Where was Jess?

Jesse threw off his blanket and scrambled to stand up and walk over to his sister's bed. Grabbing her blanket, he pulled it off. No one was there.

"Oh my gosh," he whispered, the realization finally hitting him. His sister was gone.

 _Where is she?_ The thought kept replaying in his head as he left their room, walking into every other room to find her. Maybe she was eating something in the kitchen or dining room? No. Was she watching TV in the living room? No again. Was she in the bathroom? No, the doors were all open.

Where the heck had she gone!?

He shook his head in disbelief, unable to think that she had left the house without telling anyone or leaving a note. Jesse returned to their room, going to her nightstand.

Her phone wasn't there either. Was it on her?

He checked her drawers just in case her phone happened to be in one of them. No, there were books, tissues, sheet music, pads– _oh crap_ , put those back. He closed her drawers warily. She definitely took her phone with her.

Jesse was going to call her and she was going to get the quietest lecture of all time.

He looked at his own phone, snatching it from the nightstand, and called Jess's phone. As he sat down on his bed, the rings went on for a few minutes before sounds of some sort of fighting game came up.

" _Pause the game_ ," he heard. Then sounds of shuffling and soft breathing. " _Hello?_ "

"Jess." He glared at whatever was in front of him as if it were Jess herself. "Where are you?"

" _Oh, I'm sorry for not leaving a note or something. I- I thought you and Aunty wouldn't like it._ "

"Where. Are. You?"

A sigh from the speaker. " _I'm at Lukas's place._ "

Jesse threw his arms in the air. " _Why_ would you go to someone's place at a time like this? Not to mention a guy's place?!"

" _I couldn't sleep, Jay, I'm sorry, but he happened to text me and we were talking and stuff and–_ "

"Jess, I don't care whose house you went to, you shouldn't be leaving home by yourself without telling anyone! Come home right now!" His voice was slowly rising and he forgot that there was someone else in the apartment.

" _Okay, I'll come home, but please don't shout, I don't want Aunty to get mad!_ "

"Aunt Carrie can't hear me at this volume, but it shouldn't matter whether she wakes up or not. You're in trouble."

" _Why are you treating me like this? I'm the same age as you, and we're both old enough to take care of ourselves! I know it was a mistake not to tell you where I was going, but you would've done the same thing in my position!_ "

"Jess, I freaked out when I found out you weren't in bed. I literally searched every room in the apartment hoping you were just eating some cereal or in the bathroom but I panicked when I realized you weren't even home at all. Do you know how much you scared me?!" At this point, he was hanging his head, hands gripping the edge of his mattress.

" _I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll come home right now. Just... let me get ready._ " A sigh, and then more sounds of shuffling. " _Um, Lukas wants to talk to you. I'll leave you guys be._ " Through other sounds, he assumed she handed the phone to Lukas. In the background, Jesse could hear her say, " _I'll be at the door._ "

" _... Yo._ "

Jesse made a face. "Dude. Why would you sneak my sister out? Why is she at your house?"

Lukas sighed, making it the third sigh Jesse heard over the phone today. " _We both couldn't sleep. I just happened to text her while she was awake. I actually texted a bunch of people but they didn't respond so I texted Jess and surprisingly, she replied. We called each other and talked for a bit and then I asked her if she wanted to come to my house to hang out for a bit._ "

"But _why_?"

" _I'm getting there, hold on. Anyway, at first she declined but she decided to come if I dropped her off back at your place at 7:30. We've just been talking and playing Wii and Playstation games, nothing more. But I asked her if she wanted to come because... because..._ "

Jesse waited patiently but had to say something when nothing was spoken. "Because...?"

" _I... I'm actually afraid of being alone._ "

Jesse tried to say something but his mouth just hung open and he was rendered unable to speak.

" _Y-yeah, I know it's kind of weird, but it's been a thing I had since I was little, ever since I moved away from here. I'm not afraid of being in the house alone or anything like that, but sometimes I overthink when I don't want to and I just need someone to be with me. Jess doesn't know this stuff, please don't tell her._ "

"I... won't tell her. I promise."

" _Thanks, Jesse. You're a good friend._ "

Shaking his head slowly, Jesse brought himself back from astonishment. "Well, bring Jess home safe and sound for me, will ya?"

" _I'd never lay a finger on her even if my life depended on it._ "

"Thanks. I kind of needed that."

" _See ya in a bit._ " The phone bleeped and the call ended.

Jesse lay down on his bed, arms and legs spread out. He hadn't realized how warm it was until now; he had been worried for Jess.

 _Wow. Who would've thought a cool guy like Lukas had a fear of being alone sometimes?_ It was proof that Lukas was just as human as Jesse himself was, and, for some reason, he now felt more relaxed and calm in his bed.

If only he hadn't been so rude to Jess, though. She didn't deserve it. It was true; had he been in her place, he would've done the same thing. An apology was in deserving.

He sighed himself. Now all he had to do was wait quietly for Jess to return...

Maybe he should let Lukas stay for a bit, too.

* * *

 **Super short, I know, but I felt another chapter was needed to make up for the long wait! (Although I'm supposed to be working on my essay draft oops)**

NinaNaranja - **Super Smash Bros. Brawl is super fun! I used to play it all the time with my friends after school haha. And thank youuuu**

RapidSammi - **She just happened to use Pikachu that round, don't worry xD and yes it was :3**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wattpad has gotten ahead again oops**

 **Also, I don't want to ask too much of you guys, but if you're reading this fanfic, could you leave a review on your current thoughts about this? I want to know more about how the readers feel so I can stitch the events more to everyone's liking :D**

 **Also, I want to apologize for a _huge_ mistake I made. In chapter 15, this Saturday was supposed to take place TWO WEEKS after they were with Gabriel. Aunt Carrie is also at home and not on her three-month trip due to faulty equipment. I've fixed them to avoid confusing future readers, but I'm sorry if this caused any confusion!**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

A few minutes later, Jesse opened the door to a Lukas staring him in the face and a tired-looking Jess who seemed like she'd been crying.

He sighed himself. "Jess, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that. I would have done the same in your position."

She simply wrapped her arms around her brother. "It's okay, Jay. I should've let someone know."

Lukas awkwardly stood in the doorway and watched. "So... I guess I'll go now. Sorry about that." He started to walk out when Jesse grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him back.

"Wait, dude, come inside. Get a drink or something at least."

Lukas blinked at him. "Why? I'm not sure your aunt would appreciate me in here."

"She's asleep. And besides, it's still dark out and I want to thank you for driving Jess home."

"He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to," commented Jess, who made a face. "Lukas is just really nice. He's like a mockingbird."

"Are you referencing _To Kill a Mockingbird_?" laughed Lukas.

"Maybe," she smiled.

Despite his excuses, Jesse managed to bring Lukas inside and they sat in the living room, taking small glimpses of each other.

"So," started Jesse as he sipped from his cup of milk, "this rain isn't going to let up anytime soon, huh?"

"Doesn't seem like it," said Jess from her corner of the sofa. "It's been sprinkling since I woke up."

"Hopefully it'll be gone by noon. I have to go somewhere and I don't wanna be wet."

"Where ya goin'?" inquired Jesse.

"Oh, not really any place important. My dad just wants me to help him with his work."

"What does your dad do?" perked up Jess.

"He's a producer."

"What... kind of producer?"

"Music."

The twins glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes and back at Lukas. "What's his company label?"

"Uh, I think it's Bedrock Productions."

"Bedrock?!" they shouted as loud as they could without waking Aunt Carrie. "Bedrock is the label for all the popular people!"

Lukas shrugged. "I never really pay attention to that kinda stuff."

"But you have- like- I don't know- this is such a big opportunity!" Jess flailed. "You could be touring around the world and playing in places like Disneyland!"

"It's not _that_ big of a deal. My dad's more of a background person when it comes to the producing there. Let's forget about me. What about your parents?"

They shrugged. "Our mom is a clothing designer and producer," began Jess. "Our dad is a CNC machinist, so he always brings home a bunch of stuff he created from metal," continued Jesse.

Lukas opened his mouth to say something but then his phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. His face contorted into a worried disposition and he stood up. "Excuse me for a second."

He went to the dining room to talk on the phone and left the Jesses in the living room.

"You think he's okay?" Jess whispered. Jesse shook his head.

Tiptoeing, they carefully snuck to the countertop, hiding behind it. They could feel their ears hurting from the strain.

"I can't!" Lukas whisper-shouted. "I'm not ruining my chances."

A bit of silence as Lukas listened to the phone, and then a large arm gesticulation. "If she's still here, I'm going to try to find her. I don't give up that easily."

Jess squinted her eyes a little bit. "Is he talking about...?"

Jesse looked at her. "Who?" She ignored him.

"That's not why," Lukas said. "It's not that. They're nice and fun to be around. Can't you at least understand that I can do what I want? I may be the leader, but I can make my own choices, too."

Some more garbled talk from the phone. "I'm in love with someone else, not her. What are you even talking about?"

The siblings stole a glance at each other.

"Fine. Her name is... Actually, I shouldn't tell you. But she doesn't have _her_ black hair! She has brown."

Lukas turned around and the Jesses ducked down behind the countertop. "What...?" They could hear him struggle to speak. "I... Okay." His footsteps indicated he was facing the wall again, so the Jesses ran back to the living room without a noise.

Not long after, Lukas came walking in, his face fallen and in disbelief.

"You... Are you okay?" Jesse asked, biting his lip.

The blonde didn't respond and sat down as far away as he could, hands holding up his head.

Jess stood up and walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "H-hey... come on, what's up?" She squeezed his shoulder slightly. "You can tell us."

Lukas shook his head and gritted his teeth. "Guys... Wait, Jess, we need to talk. Privately."

She widened her eyes in surprise and stammered, "Oh, uh, o-okay." She sent a glance to Jesse to see what he thought. He simply nodded to her. She returned it.

She led him to the kitchen and sat him down on the high stools, also taking one for herself in front of him. "What's going on?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. All the Ocelot leader did was look away from her. Jess inhaled and slowly reiterated her question.

Lukas tried to recompose himself and look at Jesse with a stoic demeanor but instead emitted a worried aura, which worried Jess more than he was.

"Petra is on her deathbed. And so are hundreds of other people afflicted with the same sickness she has."

~*Ω*~

"WHAT?!" screeched Jess, eliciting a cry from the living room and a slamming door in the hallway.

"Jess, what's happening?!" panted Jesse as he darted into the kitchen.

Aunt Carrie wasn't too far behind. "Darling, what in the world is going on?" She then realized the blonde male in her kitchen and she winced at him. "Honey, who is this and why is he in my house?"

Jess couldn't answer because she was too busy hiding her face in her hands. Jesse held his aunt's hand and introduced her. "Aunt Carrie, this is Lukas. He's our friend from school and we invited him over because he had something to tell us." He hoped that was enough to subdue his aunt. "And apparently it wasn't good," he muttered under his breath."

Aunt Carrie stared at her niece with soft eyes and let go of Jesse, going up to Jess and wrapping her arms around the black-haired girl. Her voice quieted to a thin whisper. "What did you tell her?"

Lukas flinched subtly enough to hide the fact he wasn't ready for this. "I- ma'am, I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you."

Aunt Carrie's face turned into anguish and she held the pale sibling closer. "What? What do you mean?"

He clasped his hand around the zipper handle of his jacket, fiddling with the tiny piece of metal. "It- it's kind of..." He sighed. "If you want to know, ask Jess. She may or may not tell you." He checked his watch and got off the stool. "I've got to go, but please take care of her. See ya, Jesse."

Jesse waved back and watched as Lukas left the room. Then he turned his attention to his sister and aunt.

* * *

NinaNaranja - **He's a caring brother :) and okie! No one has expressed being confused yet so I'll keep them the way they are.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Everyone still alive? No point in posting chapters if no one reads them xD I'm about to get into the deeper parts of the story too! You'll miss out ;)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

0∞-†-∞0

On the fourth floor of the hospital lay a little girl with short, black hair and a little boy with brown, curly hair. Although on opposite sides of the hospital, they held each other within and waited until they could see each other again.

"Oh, dear! My Jesse! How have they been, doctor?" a woman with long, brown hair asked. As soon as it left her mouth, she stifled the urge to cry out when she saw her little boy limp on the white bed.

A nearby nurse turned to face the woman. "Please don't disturb the doctor, ma'am, he's checking the severity of the injuries. Your son is also in a drug-induced coma; he cannot hear you."

The woman shivered and clasped her hands together. "Is my son going to be alright? Where's my daughter? Why is she not here?"

The nurse held the woman's arms to her sides and led her out the room. "If you need more information, please ask the nearby desk down the hall. I do not know the specifics." He gently closed the door and left the woman in the hallway to break down silently.

Footsteps echoed from within the hallway on the marble flooring. "Honey- honey, are you okay? What did they say about Jesse?" She looked up and saw a man embracing her in his warm torso.

She sniffled before she could ease out a few words. "He- They- they haven't told me. Yet."

"But we need to know! Who can tell us more?"

"They- they said the desk down the hall could tell us more and where Jess is."

"Oh, my babies," the man groaned, holding the woman tighter. "I'll find out where our Jess is, okay, Isabelle?"

She choked out a small gasp and grasped his shirt before letting him go. "Please find her, Christian... Take care of her."

He nodded before he briskly walked over to the desk, almost slamming his fist on the white marble counter.

"Where is she? Where's Jesse Blair Moriyadi?"

~*Ω*~

"How is she?" the man known as Christian asked.

The doctor looked at him before glancing back and forth at the petite girl underneath the sheets.

"She's in very bad condition, sir."

"What else?" he almost blurted out.

"Two of her ribs are broken and one of them impaled her organs. Both the radius and ulna in her left arm are broken, and her right leg is as well. Many of the cuts on her are deep, and we're going to have to sterilize them before we can perform any surgeries."

His face fell and his jaw dropped. "Then- can you explain my son's injuries?"

"The sibling? He's in a worse state. From what we can conclude, he was the one who protected your daughter. Most of his own ribs are broken, although not impaled into his organs. Both legs are broken and his right arm was bent backward at the joint. There's a small fissure in his skull and some bruises formed from internal bleeding are visible." The doctor paused. "Are you okay with more information, sir? It may be very detailed and gory-"

"Continue," he interjected.

The doctor nodded. "His left arm was severed from the tire of the car that hit them."

"Can... Can you connect it back?"

"Yes, with plastic surgery. However, it may be very expensive and full connection may not be-"

"I'll do it."

"Are you sure? Do you consent?"

"Yes."

The doctor turned his body around and pulled on a latex glove. "Alright. You'll have to wait outside, sir."

~*Ω*~

"We succeeded, Mr. Blair."

"Thank god!" he exclaimed, hugging his wife. She also squealed and held him.

"However, this incident may affect their behavior in the future. I advise that you be careful with what you surround them-"

"Ah- I'm sorry to interrupt, doctor, but we've decided to have professionals give them amnesia. We don't want our children to suffer this for the rest of their lives. They're young and innocent, and they don't deserve to live life in peril. They _are_ only twelve years old."

"I understand, Mrs. Ryder."

"Let's go, honey," Christian said with a tug on Isabelle's sleeve. "Thank you for everything, doctor."

"You're welcome. Take care."

~*Ω*~

"Mom, Reuben's gone... isn't he?"

The question that both children dropped upon Isabelle rendered her mute and unable to answer.

"I... yes, darlings. He's gone."

She bit her lip as she saw the kids interlock their hands. Jess cautiously took a step towards their mother. "Will we ever find the car that hit him?"

At this question, she winced. Not long after the surgeries had they injected the drug to induce partial amnesia so they didn't remember that they had been hit by the car as well as Reuben. The doctors had kept them in a coma to let them develop new memories; they had been in the hospital for two weeks.

From what the kids had told them earlier, Gabriel the Warrior had been with them before the accident. Isabelle had personally searched for him and asked him to keep it a secret, also telling him about their recovery process. Gabriel agreed and Isabelle finally let out the breath she had been holding. Then she had come home to find her children waiting patiently for her in front of the doorway.

"I'm not sure, honey. But Reuben is in a better place and he's watching you two, okay? He'll take care of you."

"I don't want to go to school tomorrow," whimpered Jesse. "I want to stay with you and Dad to make sure Reuben is happy." Jess violently bobbed her head in agreement and their mother sighed.

"Alright, you can stay tomorrow. I'm just... glad you two are safe." Isabelle's eyes started to blur and she quickly wiped her eyes, trying to cover her tears.

With no words, the twins let go of each other and ran up to their brown-haired mother, wrapping their arms around her faster than they could blink. "Don't cry, mom, y-you're making me want to cry-y..." Jesse trailed off as he started to choke back the waterworks.

"We're still here, mom, it's okay... i-it's okay- _hic!_ " squeaked out Jess as she hiccuped.

Eventually, all of them gave up trying to suppress their emotions and they cried into each others' shoulders, Isabelle on her knees to hold them tighter.

"Stop crying, kids, we can't have Dad seeing us like this... right? We have to be happy for him so he doesn't get sad," Isabelle told them, wiping away their tears individually.

"O-okay," Jess said, futilely wiping her cheeks. "Let's go, Jay." Jesse followed his sister to the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

Isabelle returned to her room as well and examined herself in the mirror.

Her mascara was starting to run and she looked more tired than a sloth in a race. She exhaled. "What a mess."

0∞-†-∞0

"... she told me that Petra had collapsed in front of her own house, whispering things like 'Why can't I remember?' and 'Who is Petra?'" Aunt Carrie whispered loudly. "Mrs. Casey found her and called an ambulance to bring her to the hospital. For some strange reason, many other people had collapsed at the same time and were all being sent to the hospital as well. After a diagnosis, the doctors concluded they were all affected by the same sickness, although they don't know what it is. Her friend Lukas just told her not too long ago, and now she's crying in her room with Jay at her side. And you know what, Belle? She told me not to tell Jay because he's in love with Petra!"

A shattering wail erupted from the other side of the call and Aunt Carrie covered the speaker as if the twins could hear it. "My children!" cried the woman on the phone. "My precious children are just cursed with some type of spell or something! They're predisposed to all this drama and despair and I just- I don't know how to protect them! They're going to remember what truly happened, Carrie, and what am I supposed to tell them?"

"Isabelle, they won't blame you! They'll understand! They might have to think about it for a few days and they might be frustrated, but they'll still love you the same as they always have! Chris would probably tell you the same thing!"

"Chris- oh, you can't hear him from where I'm standing, but he moved to his room to hide the fact that he was crying! You know the man. He doesn't cry unless he's very concerned, and now that his children have been thrown back into the shadows, he's conflicted! We don't want to constantly erase their memories. They'd just be living a bunch of _lies_! We've already lost dear Reuben, what are we supposed to do when we lose Petra as well? And just think of the Caseys! Imagine how they'll feel when they lose her. They'll be just like how Chris and I were those dreadful three years ago."

"Belle, I know your habit is to talk fancy and constantly care for all, but maybe you have to turn away from this situation. The children are going to have to deal with this themselves. If you're going to help them, do it behind-the-scenes. Don't make it blatantly obvious that you're hiding something from them because that will only make you look guilty. And you don't have to bear this alone. You've got Chris. What do I have? Myself and a vacuum cleaner. I'm going to suck all those fears out their heads and dump the filter bag _far_ , far away from here, where they won't have to deal with it again."

"... Carrie." Isabelle went quiet before exhaling. "Who is this Lukas?"

"I don't really know myself. I've never met him until now."

They both sat in withdrawn excitement and listened to the sprinkling outside.

"I hope he takes care of my children."

* * *

Guest **-** **Well, I can't say if she dies or not (for obvious reasons) but although I am following the plotline of the original MCSM, a lot of things are going to be changed as you can tell from previous chapters (and this one as well). Some events will even be out of order. And you'll learn how she got it in a future chapter ;0**


	20. Chapter 20

**3000 views on Fanfiction and 1000 views on Wattpad! Thank you so much, everyone! Chapter 25 will have a little special thing included :)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"Shirley, please grab my coffee from the kitchen."

The lady with the dark up-do in the corner nodded. "Yes, sir." She briskly skittered to another room and came back holding a cup of coffee on a small plate, gingerly placing it down on his desk.

"Thank you." The man took a sip from the cup before violently rotating his head to the side and spitting it out.

He wiped his mouth. "Uh, Shirley... What is in this coffee?"

She twiddled her thumbs nervously. "You asked for black. Am I mistaken, sir?"

He shook his head and put the cup down on the petite plate. "No, you're correct, but I'm asking what is in it."

"I used your own ground mix, two teaspoons of vanilla, a touch of sugar, a tablespoon of milk, and a tablespoon of cream."

"But... that's not black. Hmm. Milk- a tablespoon of— Oh dear, oh, throw this away instantly, Shirley, get rid of this _immediately_!" He stood up and handed the cup and plate to her.

"U-uh, yes sir, but may I ask what was in it?"

"It was my blasted– agh, you don't need to know. Just throw it away!"

Instead of waiting for her to respond, the man walked to the bathroom and grabbed a toothbrush, fiercely washing away his sin on his tongue.

Swirling some water in his mouth, he spat it out. "Damn it, Gabriel..."

He stood there, leaning against the sink, and stared at himself in the mirror before listening to the light rain outside.

Leaving the bathroom, he looked out a nearby window.

"Hm. It's letting up. It should be gone by nine at this rate. So, that's in..." he checked his watch, "fifteen minutes."

Gabriel returned to his desk, searching for something. "Where is that cursed-" he was interrupted by Shirley coming in.

"Sir, as today is Sunday, September 4th, it seems we have an unexpected man by the name of Mr. Orvi visiting at noon. We must clean up your desk before any exposed documents are revealed."

"Yes, we must, although I don't understand how he found us here. Take this pile and throw them in the trash." Then he pointed at another stack. "Come back and throw that pile away as well. Be careful with what you grab, however. I'm looking for something in this mess and don't want to lose it."

"Yes, sir." She attempted to turn around but almost toppled over had it not been for a nearby table. Recomposing herself, she walked to the garbage chute and tossed them down the almost seemingly infinite drop.

Walking back, she grabbed the next stack of papers but did not bother checking them. She assumed that whatever he was looking for could not have been in what she was carrying. After all, it looked simply like a stack of papers.

She dumped it down the garbage chute as well before a loud _clank_ caught her attention. And then another. And another. This worried her and she returned to Gabriel with broken nails and a chipped tooth.

"Sir... Was the item you were looking for metallic?"

Gabriel was putting papers away neatly in their respective cabinets. He turned in his chair and nodded. "Why, yes, Shirley. Have you seen it?"

"Not- not exactly, sir, but I think I may have accidentally dropped it down the garbage chute."

"You- YOU WHAT?!"

The sudden outburst surprised Shirley and she fidgeted with her hands.

She fidgeted with them the same way when the pink slip was in them.

"Anne! Anne, wherever you are, come down to the dumpsters immediately!" Gabriel shouted, running towards the elevator.

"Right behind you, sir! Please leave it open!" the woman named Anne shouted. She panted and entered the elevator before the doors closed. "What are we doing in the rubbish?"

"One of the younger assistants threw away something very important in the garbage channel."

"May I ask what it is?"

Gabriel whispered in her ear and the redhead gasped. "We can go retrieve it, right, sir?"

"Today's Saturday! They're going to pick up all the waste and take it to the landfills! If we don't hurry now, we may never find it again!"

~*Ω*~

"Come on, Jess! Why won't you tell me?"

The sniffling wreck of emotion shook her head forcefully. "You don't need to know, Jay, I've already told you that!"

Jesse grabbed her by the wrists and stopped her smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk. "I'm smart enough to know that you're not okay and you need someone, so just tell me! I don't know why you're keeping this from me and why Lukas only told you, but if it's bad enough to make you cry, then I want to know so you don't have to cry again!"

"Jay, you're acting like you're the older brother," she said in a futile attempt to lighten the mood. He didn't get the hint.

"But I _am_ your _brother_! And _you're_ my _sister_!"

"Jay, I'll tell you this one last time," she whispered as she reverted back to her previous demeanor, "You don't need to know and I don't have to tell you. This is between Lukas and me."

"But I–"

"Drop it."

He hung his head and let go of her wrists with a sigh. "Alright."

They continued awkwardly walking down the street, Jess puffy-eyed and Jay stiffly strolling, when suddenly, loud clanging noises of metal on metal started ringing in the alleyway they passed by.

"What was that?" said Jesse. Jess shrugged and both of them walked backward to sneak a peek of the dark alley, being cautious in case it was some drug dealer or similar.

Then, Jess started poking her brother's shoulder. "Hey, look at it," she said quietly, pointing at the chute that connected to the very top floor. It had outward dents and something seemed to be protruding from the very bottom.

Both of them stealthily crept up to the chute, ignoring the putrid smell of the garbage in front of them, and looked up the metal channel. Some broken tube of a glass or plastic was lodged in the side of it. Without thinking, Jesse wrapped his hands around it and tried to pull it out. Shrugging, Jess decided to help.

"RUFF!"

"AHHHH!"

The twins frantically let go of the tube and hid behind the dumpster faster than they could blink before realizing it was just a stray dog that had passed through. Jess let out a large sigh. "Why are we doing this?"

Jesse stuck his bottom lip out, not knowing why himself. So, they continued.

They actually didn't have to continue as, in their panic, they managed to pull out the tube. However, it had dropped into the dumpster.

Jess leaned on her tippy-toes to see inside the large dumpster. Jesse stood on top of a large wooden box. "Wait- Jess, do you see that?" Jesse winced as he tried to focus his sight.

She sniffled, still a little shaken by yesterday's events, making it slightly harder to see. "What are you talking about?"

"That- that thing, right there," he said, pointing.

Jess wiped her eyes and winced as well, adjusting her angle. Sure enough, there was the random tube they pulled out from the chute... as well as what it had broken off of.

It was a circular-shaped– _thing_ , with the circles made out of alloyed gold and the center sphere a translucent, dark blue jewel. Connecting the center circle and sphere to the outer circle were four black, slate-like reinforcers with space between it and the outer circle.

The strangest things about the strange item were the lights in between the black reinforcers. They were in the shape of tubes and made out of jewels, one of the lights being the one they pulled out of the chute. Although they were glowing, with the exception of the broken one, none of them were brighter than Olivia's optimism. Which was pretty dark, to clarify.

"Damn, it's in the back of the dumpster. We'll have to get it from the wall," Jesse frowned. He stepped down and picked up the box he was standing on, bringing it to the other side of the brick wall. Jess followed right behind him.

"Is this illegal?" she coughed, looking at him through her swollen eyelids. He didn't say anything and simply thinned his lips into a line.

As he stepped up on the box, he looked down at her. "Now that I think about it, it shouldn't be. After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure."

"Yes, I definitely want last week's curdled milk," she deadpanned, climbing up the box anyway.

They both grabbed the strange ornament and held it up in the sunlight. The golden parts glimmered and the lustrous jewels shone brightly.

"It's kinda pretty," he commented. They stepped down from the box and put it in Jess's bag. Then she sniffled, unable to control her nose, and sneezed loudly, causing all the commotion to turn silent.

"Bless you," said a man passing by.

"Thank you," she replied out of courtesy, yelping when her sibling pulled her down.

"Jay, what was th–"

"Shhhh! Jess, that was the guy that cheated Petra out of her deal!"

She pulled out a tissue and blew her nose, looking up to inspect the features of the guy that walked by. His long, shiny strands of hair blew behind, imitating the wave of his long, oriental-style robe.

"... He's the guy?"

Jesse nodded furiously.

"So I'm guessing you want to follow him?"

He nodded again with more vigor.

She sighed. "I'm not going with you."

He whined. "Why not?"

"I wanna go home for a bit and take a short nap. I could probably wash the thing we just found, too. Maybe even try to fix it."

"Well– can I at least ask a favor from you?"

Jess rolled her eyes and swatted at the air to brush a fruit fly away. "What is it now?"

"If I call you and you can't hear me or there's random grunting and screaming, call 911."

"I think I got that even _before_ I asked if he was the guy."

"See you at home, then." Jesse slunk away like a praying mantis and turned the corner, leaving her line of sight.

She looked up and stared at the blue sky, wondering where all the clouds had gone. "... I guess it's time to visit Petra."

* * *

 **I have no idea why, but it was kind of difficult explaining what the item they found looked like. I know people in the fandom already know what it is but?**

 **Also rip Shirley she was only an assistant for four days before getting fired**

Meow Shadow **\- Thank you ahhh~ And yeah, I had the update glitch as well, and I missed out on a lot of my favorite fanfics! But it's perfectly fine :)**

sailor . mikuchan **\- ;( and hmmm maybe ;)**


	21. Chapter 21

**I'M OUT OF SCHOOL! MORE TIME TO WRITE STORIES (although I still have to go to summer school haha)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

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"Down the hall, third door on the left."

"Thank you."

Jess walked down the marble hallway, feeling as if she was going to trip on her own feet and fall sideways. This hospital gave her a strange feeling of fright and vulnerability despite having been here multiple times when her mother and father were ill. All those other times, she held felt nothing but fear _for her parents_ \- so why was today different?

Her hand shivered as she reached for the door. A chill ran down her back, giving her goosebumps. She wasn't ready to see Petra, especially if she looked like how Lukas had described her.

She opened the door anyway.

Thank god, there was a curtain.

"Are you-" the nurse in the corner of the room snuck a peek at a monitor- "Jesse Ryder?"

She nodded and took in a deep breath, turning the corner of the curtain.

She held her breath when she laid eyes on Petra. Her skin was a sickly gray color and her veins were visible on the surface, seemingly dull purple.

Maybe it wasn't that her veins had gone to the surface, it was that her skin was now sticking to her organs, looking as if all her muscle had disappeared.

Instead of her normal outfit, she was dressed in the mandatory hospital clothes and her hair was spread out on the pillow, similar to how leaves branched out from a stem.

"How is she?" The words struggled to leave her mouth.

"She's only living through our life support," said the nurse, speaking calmly to carefully choose her words. "We don't know what this malady is, but it causes amnesia and the entire body to shut down. The veins become swollen and the skin thins down to a mere layer of a few cells. It's not good. Some other patients have also been seen going through extreme pain as their veins swell up and clog, but your friend was different."

Jess blinked in astonishment. That was what had been happening to her? "Why has this been so spread out?"

The door clicked open and a tan-colored man with a thick, curled mustache stepped into the room. "We're not sure about that, but we can confirm most men who have contracted the illness have worked together at some point. Many also worked for a company which is now defunct."

Jess stared at the man in the doorway who shut the door behind him. "Then if most of them have worked together, how did my friend get it? Has she been working with shady people?" Her head reminded her of Petra's 'night' job, dealing underground, but there was no way Petra was stupid enough to get herself into _this_ kind of stuff.

The man stood upright and put his hands behind his back in a soldier-style. "We don't know, hence why my team was wondering if you could answer a few questions."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically, unsure if she could trust this man. "Before you go asking me any questions, who are you?"

The man pulled out a thin wallet and held it out to her. She grabbed it and read the ID card.

"I'm Captain Reginald of the Stonebrook Key and Aether Force, otherwise known as Sky City Guard."

She scrunched her eyebrows. She knew who he was but never had to see him around the city. Now that he was here in front of her, she could tell these cases were serious. After all, the Sky City Guard were the elite of the elite in all of California, stationed only in Stonebrook and Aether– they never had to show themselves.

She returned the wallet and frowned. "Why did you come to me?"

"Your friend is the youngest to contract this illness. Most people who were diagnosed with it were in their thirties and forties, and yet we have a teenager who is almost 17."

Jess glanced at the redhead in the bed and bit her lip. "I'll answer everything truthfully."

The Captain pulled a chair and sat down, taking out a notepad. "Then let's begin."

~*Ω*~

 _Should I take the elevator after or just use the stairs?_ Jesse was stuck between the two choices.

If he took the next lift, he wouldn't know what floor to exit on, and if he took the stairs, he might move slower than the elevator and lose the man.

"Agh, I'll just take the stairs."

He waited until the man entered the elevator and dashed up the first two flights, waiting for any sounds of elevator bells dinging. Finally, after another three flights, he spotted the man exit and turn to his left. With careful awareness, Jesse waited for the man to turn a corner in order to follow. Eventually, Jesse could see him knock on room 102.

The door opened and a woman showed her face. He strained his ears to hear the woman:

"Ah, what is your name, sir?"

The man straightened up. "Orvi, miss."

She went through a list and pointed at a scribble on a piece of paper. "Mr. Orvi. Please, come in. Mr. Gabriel is out at the moment but he will be coming back in two minutes."

The man, now known as 'Orvi,' nodded and entered.

Jesse cursed and dashed at the door, sliding through as the woman closed it, who was focused on Mr. Orvi. He panicked and rolled into the next room, hiding behind the wall. "Hey, at least I rolled into the kitchen. Got knives in case I need to stab someone," he joked, mentally slapping himself at how stupid he was.

"What is your relation to Gabriel, miss?" Orvi said, eyeing the room. She smiled and replied, "I'm his maid, sir."

"Are there any other people here?"

"We have one assistant, one secretary, and one head organizer, but the assistant is out with Mr. Gabriel and the secretary is on break. The head organizer is busy filing documents."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

 _Oh god, please be hydrated_ , Jesse pleaded.

"Yes, I would. Thank you."

 _Damn you, human biology!_

"I will make a cup of green tea."

Footsteps were getting louder and louder towards Jesse and he leaped behind the table, lying flat and hyperventilating.

The maid walked into the kitchen and sounds of metal were heard. As she was occupied, Jesse slunk back into the main room and hid in the corner behind some long window drapes. "What am I doing?" he muttered under his breath.

The maid returned and Jesse held his breath. The sound of the tea cup clinking against the small plate was muffled by Mr. Orvi talking. "Thank you... ah..."

"You can call me Reyes, sir."

"Thank you, Miss Reyes."

The door opened and Jesse peeked into the room. Gabriel entered and held the door open for another woman, presumably the assistant.

"Ah, are you Mr. Orvi?" Gabriel said, closing the door.

Mr. Orvi turned his head and smiled, although it was not warm. "Why, I am."

Gabriel gasped and the assistant and maid looked at him in confusion.

"... Ivor?"

Mr. Orvi/Ivor smirked and stood up, facing him with his entire body. "Hello, Gabriel."

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RapidSammi **\- It's alright! Same thing happened to me. There's a lot more happening behind the scenes btw ;)**


	22. Chapter 22

**I spent a really long time coloring the cover xD but I kept getting distracted from time to time soooooo**  
 **Anyway, what do you guys think about it? I really like it :)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

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"Did you notice any... strange activities before today from your friend?"

Jess shook her head. "No, sir, it was my friend Lukas who called me on the phone yesterday and told me about his last meeting with her."

The Captain tugged on the end of his mustache. "What did he say?"

"Her collarbone area was pale gray and the veins were popped out, much like how she looks in bed right now. He said like 'withered flowers,' I think. He also said that she looked tired as they were speaking, and sometimes she would forget what they were talking about and she even forgot who he was as well. I think he also said that he asked her what she was doing and she said, 'I don't know, who am I?'"

"Where were your friends when they had this conversation?"

"At the plaza, sir."

"What time?"

"It was... past midnight if I remember correctly. A Saturday, two weeks ago. Actually, it should be Sunday, because, ya know, it's past midnight."

He lifted an eyebrow at her verbal antics. Then he returned to scribbling in his notebook. "Do you have a theory as to how your friend contracted the illness?"

"Petra... She..." Jess felt herself get tongue-tied, something that never really happened often. Did she have to give away Petra's kind-of-secret job of trading with underground dealers and getting herself in physical dangers? Or could she keep that a secret?

She took a breath. "Petra is a dealer who finds what her contacts need and trades them for money and such. I think she may have gotten the sickness from her last contact." There was no way that Jesse would keep Petra's job a secret if her life was in peril. The Captain needed to know the truth.

"Do you know if anyone accompanied her to her last contact?"

 _Jay_. "No, sir, no one was with her. She didn't let me come with her although I kept begging her to." Sometimes the truth has to be bent or even broken. _He can't be brought into this._

"Do you have any siblings?"

She bit the inside of her mouth. Crap. "Yes, sir, why?"

"Maybe they have more information."

She shook her head slowly yet vehemently. "Captain Reginald, I can tell you with 110% confidence that my brother knows nothing about her job or that she is currently sick. He just didn't happen to know about the job, but I've been keeping her illness a secret. If he knew, he would go crazy, sir. Lovesick teenage males are like that." Yeah, she stretched some things here and there, but at least the last part was true.

The Captain nodded. "I see." He started to scrawl down a few words in the margins of the tiny notebook.

"Is there anything else I can answer, sir?"

"No, Miss Ryder, you're free to go."

She felt her eyebrow twitch up. "How'd you know my last name?"

"I had asked the Visitor's desk earlier."

Her mouth formed an 'O' shape. "That makes sense."

Captain Reginald was about to leave the room and close the door when he took one last glance at Jess over his shoulder.

"You know, you look like my boss. That's a compliment, by the way."

He shut the door behind him.

The only thing Jess did was hold the side of her face in confusion.

Then an erratic amount of beeping came from Petra's left side and Jess whirled around, watching as the ill girl's heart monitor went up and down irregularly and quickly, too quickly, as if the line was a ping pong ball ricocheting off two walls.

"Miss Ryder, you have to exit the room!" the nurse declared, running to Petra's side.

"Wait, what's going on?" she asked in a panic, gripping the edge of Petra's bed.

"I'm not allowed to tell you, Miss, but you have to leave immediately!"

She frantically let go of the bed and dashed through the door, not wanting to see the next scenes play out.

Her head started to throb and she grabbed the side of her temple, groaning loudly in frustration. What was her life becoming?

She pulled her phone out of her bag to check the time when 'Olivia' popped up on the screen along with a picture of the intelligent brainiac. Swiping right, she held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

" _Hey, Jess? Uh, you should really check your phone more often._ "

She cringed her nose. "What?"

" _Lukas has apparently been trying to call you all morning, but you haven't been answering. Now, because of that, Axel has been getting worried and he's been cooped up in my room all day. You should call them._ "

"Oh- I'm sorry, I just happened to get caught up in a bunch of stuff this morning and my phone was on silent. I'll call them right now."

" _You do that. If you don't mind, I have an Axel to feed._ "

"Bye."

" _See you tomorrow._ "

The call ended with a beep and she went through her notifications, shocked to find 10 missed calls from Lukas and 32 missed calls from Axel, not including the 10 Skype calls.

"What do they need from me to call me that many times? Poor Axel," she sighed, "he probably doesn't know what's going on but is worried for me anyway. I should call him first."

She started walking down the hallway, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose with a spare tissue to make sure she didn't sound congested.

Jess called Axel and waited for him to pick up. She didn't have to wait long- the ringing didn't even pass half a second.

" _Jess? Where are you?_ "

"Sorry Axel, I was..." she searched for an excuse, "... out at the mall shopping for things with Aunt Carrie since she's leaving again tomorrow."

" _And that was an excuse for not answering your phone?_ "

She pouted. "Hey, my phone's always on silent and you know that!"

" _Well, I just wanted to know if you were okay. After, you're one of my only friends. Best friends._ "

Jess smiled warmly. "Best friends forever, no matter what. Now I've got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow!"

" _See ya._ "

She ended the call and switched to Lukas.

" _Hello?_ "

"Hey. What's wrong?"

" _I- um..._ "

She bit the inside of her mouth with anxious silence.

" _I don't think he meant to message me in the beginning, but Jesse told me to call you and ask for help. He typed everything out really frantically._ "

The inside of her mouth started to bleed and she gripped her phone. "Come as soon as you can. I'll text you the area."

She ended the call and ran through the hallways, avoiding and apologizing to nurses in the immediate area.

~*Ω*~

"What are you doing here, Ivor?"

"I'm just paying a visit to my favorite friend. My favorite _liar_." Ivor hissed the last word through a menacing smirk.

Gabriel glared at him. "We talked about this, Ivor. You got what you wanted."

The long-haired man laughed and walked around to the side of the sofa. "I can't believe you didn't find out who I was earlier. Orvi was just an anagram. But that's beside the point. Do you really believe anyone can be great?"

The Warrior tensed. "With enough hard work– yes."

Ivor clenched the sofa and gritted his teeth. "Was that where I went wrong?! I simply didn't _work_ hard enough?!"

"Ivor, please..." Gabriel took a step back and his hand hovered over his pocket.

"Do your assistants and maids know the truth, Gabriel? Why don't _you_ tell them the _real story_?" Ivor took a step closer.

Gabriel grimaced. "I see time has made you bitter."

Ivor shoved his face right in front of Gabriel's and glared straight into the Warrior's eyes. "And it's made _you_ an even _bigger_ fool. Why don't you come outside with me?" Ivor's hand flew to his back and the boy behind the window drapes gasped.

 _Those are the wither cores!_ Jesse's eyes widened as he watched from a distance. _What is he going to do with those things?_

Gabriel growled but he opened the door anyway, hand still lingering over this pocket. "Ladies first."

"If I'm a lady," Ivor scoffed, "then you're a donkey." He exited the room.

The dark-skinned man rolled his eyes and motioned for his assistant to follow him, also making another gesture to his maid who ran off into the room opposite Jesse.

They left the room and closed the door. Jesse cautiously tiptoed out of the drapes and opened the front door, carefully closing it behind him.

Ivor and Gabriel (and the assistant, too) were not too far away and were walking side by side, the former strutting in the hallway while the latter walked stiffly. Ivor was smirking as he put on a pair of gloves.

Jesse followed them outside and backed up when he saw Ivor tackle Gabriel and put some type of machine over his head. Ivor then pulled out the wither cores and inserted them into three slots on the machine. He also placed a large chip on the chest area of the machine and stood up, taking a few steps back.

A loud scream resounded throughout the streets as Gabriel started to squirm on the ground, electric shocks zapping every part of his body.

Jesse pulled out his phone and randomly pressed an app, unable to control where his fingers were traveling. Suddenly, a new direct message to Lukas on Instagram popped up and he decided to just take his chances.

 _Lukas, I know this is completely random, but I need u to call Jess RIGHT NOW! Tell her that_ i _need help immediately! PLEASE CALL HER ASAP!_

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and ran towards the oriental-styled man, smashing his fist against Ivor's jaw.

" _What are you doing to him?!_ " Jesse yelled, pinning Ivor against a car with both hands.

Ivor made a 'tch' sound and shoved Jesse off, eliciting a yelp from the boy. "Nothing you need to know, child."

As Jesse tried to relieve the pain in his arm and hand, Ivor towered over the fidgeting, in-pain Gabriel and laughed as he saw the bystanders gape in horror.

"He's not in pain, don't worry, everyone," Ivor assured them, making hand gestures for them to back up. "I'm sorry this is how you all have to learn the truth, but nothing built can last forever."

Gabriel slowly rose and the machine flew off his torso, three head-like shapes popping out from above. The 'eyes' shone a hazy white and the strange chip Ivor put on the chest area turned into a full cube, blinking multiple different colors.

Gabriel groaned and grabbed his head, eyes widening as he looked up. "Ivor, no...!"

Ivor swung his arm out and pointed at the floating machine. "Creature, _attack!_ "

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RapidSammi **\- *tears flow down my face* what have i done**


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm getting so many reads on this tysm ;** **v; Also, I'm sorry for the delay in posting new chapters, I didn't have access to a computer to format the text correctly. The Fanfiction app is so finicky!**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

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"NO!" Jesse screamed as he shoved Gabriel out of the way, dodging the projectile.

"Jesse?" Gabriel's eyes widened to the size of small plates. "What are you doing here? You're going to get hurt! Get out, now!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!" The boy ran behind a wall as he avoided another blast.

"You have your sister and family to think about! Go home, Jesse!" Gabriel parkour-rolled over a car and ran towards him.

"I'm _not going anywhere_!"

Gabriel sighed and stared directly into the green eyes of the adolescent. "Fine. But don't get hurt, you hear?"

The boy nodded.

A voice yelled from behind the wall. "Creature, _attack_!"

The two looked up in horror when they saw the strange machine hovering above them and ran as quickly as they could, leaping up when the blast blew them away.

"Gabriel, please tell me, _what is that thing_?" Jesse panted heavily.

"... It's a Wither. An industrial-grade creature genetically engineered to be used for military purposes with installed bionic upgrades. However, the military stopped using them when one Wither went out of control, hence why the Wither cores weren't being produced anymore."

" _This_ is what they were using the cores for?!"

Gabriel nodded grimly.

"Then we got to stop this thing!"

Gabriel whipped his head around furiously. "No. It's after me, not you!"

Jesse furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

The Warrior was interrupted when the ground started to shake and split apart into large pieces of debris. They separated from the floor and were sucked into the Wither, which was accumulating more and more material until its massive size blocked out the sun.

All Gabriel could do was look up with dread, his eyes dull. "Ivor... what have you done?"

The mentioned man was nearby, laughing. He looked around at the astonished bystanders who were screaming and crying. "Look at him! The mighty Gabriel! Looks like true greatness is out of his reach. He may not be able to defeat this monster, but I can!" He looked up at the massive Wither and pointed at it. "Creature– _retreat_!"

The Wither did nothing in response but grow in size.

Ivor's previous smile thinned into a line. "Creature– _retreat_!"

It turned around to look at Ivor directly in the eyes and he glared up at the monster. "Retreat, I said! Retreat!"

"That's not working...!" Jesse exclaimed, standing next to Gabriel.

Ivor calmly looked at Jesse and Gabriel, smoothly saying a few words despite a little bit of wavering in his voice. "No need to be alarmed, my friends. I have an elixir that will destroy this creature."

He pulled out a bottle and threw it at the Wither, hitting it directly where that strange cube with the blinking lights was.

Suddenly, the Wither started to cry this horrifying screech and the three covered their ears. The debris started to loosen from the creature and it came crashing down, the machinery breaking into multiple pieces.

It fizzled and smoke erupted from it, a few sparks flying here and there. As Ivor was distracted inspecting the remains, Gabriel grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently.

"Ivor, _what were you thinking_?!"

"I was trying to teach you a lesson!" the man responded, swatting Gabriel's hands off.

"You were putting innocents in danger!"

"And you were lying to those innocents!"

"Do you know the damage you could've inflicted to Stonebrook, maybe even all of California or the _entire_ United States?"

"But the entire _world_ doesn't know what truly happened," Ivor spat, walking away. "It's time we tell them."

" _Jay_!" a girl's voice called, covered in worry and fear.

Ivor and Gabriel turned to see who it was, the latter gasping.

Jess was running towards her brother, whose leg was trapped underneath some of the rubble that had fallen.

Gabriel ran over, trying to lift the large slab of concrete off, but couldn't. Jess assisted and they lifted it a tiny bit, but not by too much.

Gabriel's assistant, who was paralyzed for most of the Wither incident, came over to help.

"Hey, make room for me!" shouted another male voice, who turned out to be Lukas. He folded his sunglasses and placed his fingers underneath the slab, and the four used all their might to perform a Herculean effort, lifting the concrete and pulling Jesse out.

Both Lukas and Jess looked at each other when they saw the condition of Jesse's leg. There were scratches all over it, some of them looking pretty deep, and plenty of bruises. Not only that, it was broken at the knee and lower half.

"I'll call an ambulance right away," said Gabriel's assistant, who stepped away, unable to take in the sight.

"Is there anything we can do?" whispered Jess.

"I would say to bandage it so we can keep the blood in, but if we touch him, it'll hurt a lot..." Lukas trailed off.

"The only thing we can do for him right now is waiting for the ambulance," Gabriel said. "Let professionals help him." He walked away to go talk with his assistant and Ivor.

Jess frowned. At least her brother was unconscious.

Lukas apprehensively placed his hand on Jess's shoulder, eliciting a small gasp from the black-haired girl.

"He'll be alright," Lukas murmured, "I promise."

Jess weakly laughed. "Don't make silly promises like that."

He gripped her shoulder a little tighter.

"Besides, as much as I'm worried about his physical condition, I'm gonna be even more worried about his mental condition once he finds out he's about to be in the same hospital as Petra."

The blonde exhaled. "Two down, four more to go."

Jess looked at him with puzzled curiosity. "What are you saying?"

"It's only a matter of time before the rest of us go down, too. I can feel it."

Jess turned to face him and grabbed his shirt, pulling him in closer to the point where her face was only a few centimeters away from his. "Listen here, Lukas Porter, it may have been fate that _we_ met, but I'm not letting our destinies go down the _drain_. We're going to fight for a future and a destiny that we want. This isn't going to be some stupid, cliché 'Just accept your fate' story, but it isn't going to be some dumb 'I'm the chosen hero' crap either."

She tilted her head a bit to get a better angle on Lukas's face. "So whatever happens, we're gonna get right back up and keep going, even if we have to start over again. You hear me?" She let go of him and took a step back.

His somber face turned into a hopeful smile and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, unable to make eye contact. "That was a little too close for me, Jess, but I think I got the message."

Her back was now facing him and she inhaled. "J-Just follow me, already."

They went towards the others, making out phrases like 'We could have all died' and 'You're an idiot' between Gabriel and Ivor.

Jess and Lukas went up to the lady who was behind Gabriel and nervously waved at her. She reciprocated the action.

"So, who are you?" asked Jess as she watched Gabriel and the other man go back and forth at each other.

"I'm Gabriel's assistant, Anne."

"And who is that other guy arguing with Gabriel?"

"His name is- is Ivor, I think."

"How do they know each other?" Lukas asked from behind Jess.

"I- I really don't know. By the way, shouldn't you kids be with your family right now? They're going to be worried once they find out your friend is injured."

Jess shook her head. "My family already has too much to worry about. Besides, I need to take care of my brother-" she gestured at the unconscious boy on the floor- "when he wakes up."

Anne nodded. "Ah. Well, the ambulance has arrived, so you better tend to him."

"..." Jess stood silent. Then she turned to Lukas with a raised eyebrow. "Lukas, could you watch Jay for me?"

Lukas blinked and pointed at himself. "Huh- wait, why me?"

"Well, you're the only friend I can turn to right now, and I trust you with him. I also have to talk to Gabriel about some things. Catch up with ya later!" she waved and left, leaving him with no choice but to go with Jesse in the ambulance.

"Could you two just _shut up_ for one moment?!" Jess said, raising her voice as she went in between the two middle-aged men.

"My dear Jess, please do not stay here any longer. It is dangerous," Gabriel blurted as soon as she walked in front of him.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she retorted. "As for you..." She glanced at Ivor. "Who are you exactly and why are you here?"

"My name is Iv–"

"I already know that. I was asking about your relationship with Gabriel."

Ivor huffed. "Well, we used to be on the same team," he glared at both Gabriel and Jess, "until an incident split it apart."

"Ivor, I've already told you-"

"Gabriel, sir, not now," Jess interjected. "Tell me, Ivor, what was that thing you spawned and why was it attacking?"

"A Wither. They used to use it in the military. I was using it to teach Gabriel a lesson."

"A lesson. A lesson?" Jess took a few steps towards Ivor. "You could've killed him and my brother but all you wanted was something a counselor could have told him?"

She flailed her arms in the air. "Sir, I apologize, but you're absolutely insane. And that's just the start of– of... _oh my gosh_."

Ivor's eyebrow went up at her curious behavior. She had stopped moving and was looking up with a stupefied expression. Gabriel was the same.

He turned around, expecting some large military force but gasped when he saw what was actually there.

He _definitely_ wasn't expecting a horde of eight massive Withers to be coming their way.

* * *

RapidSammi - ***pets head* also thank you x3**


	24. Chapter 24

**How do I say this?**

 **So I updated on Wattpad, but I started forgetting to update on Fanfiction, so now I'm really behind! The last time I updated on Fanfiction was May 28 ack i'm so sorry!**

 **I had chapter 23 done in my doc manager but I never posted it too... Good job to me *facepalm***

 **Anyway, season 2! Yes! (No spoilers please...)**

 **Review replies at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

"No... this can't be!" Ivor shouted. "Everything was going perfectly swell!"

"Ivor, what have you done?!" Gabriel yelled, taking a step back to observe their current situation better.

"Gabriel, sir..." Jess coughed, "How many Withers were created?"

"There were... nine Withers," gasped the Warrior in realization.

"That weird cube with the blinking colors... The Wither must have used it to reactivate the other eight Withers and now they're all conjoining here!" Jess glared at Ivor as she spoke. "What was that cube or chip thing you inserted?!"

"It was a _command block_ , okay? I didn't think the Withers would have conscious use over it!" He spat as he pulled out a bottle with a strange cyan color.

"Ivor, you coward, put that away!" Gabriel said, glancing at the bottle.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," he growled, drinking the liquid. In a matter of seconds, Ivor had disappeared, leaving behind only a trail of dust.

"What- what was that thing he drank?!" Jess exclaimed, frantically looking around.

Gabriel gritted his teeth. "A potion of swiftness. The chemical mix allows him to activate all of his muscles in his leg in order to increase speed."

"That son of a–"

"Let's not worry about him now, Jess. I'm going to need your help. What needs to happen next, I can't do alone."

"I got you! Now let's get out of here!"

They both started running away from the Withers, Gabriel pulling Anne with him, and jumped into his car, speeding past the limit.

"What are we going to do now, sir?" asked Anne from the back seat. Jess also took a look at him from shotgun.

"We have to get to my fortress! We'll be better protected there. Anne, I'm sorry, but you'll have to go home. I don't want you to get hurt."

Anne nodded and leaned back in her seat. "I understand, sir. Please drop me off at the entrance of the fortress."

Jess stuck her head out the window and violently pulled herself back inside, pulling her seat belt in. "Uhm, Gabriel, objects in the mirror are closer than they appear, so... you're gonna need to put the metal to the pedal, _now_!"

He stomped on the accelerator and gripped the steering wheel tightly as they all jerked backward. "It's pedal to the metal...!"

She clenched the roof handle and yelled, "Damn it, this is no time for grammatical idiom correcting, and you know what I meant!"

Screaming ensued as the eight Withers behind them started to trail closer, absorbing more and more rubble from the ground.

"Is it just me, sir, or are they fusing together?!" Anne shouted over the cries of the Withers.

"What?! They're merging?" He glanced at his rearview mirror and muttered a curse.

"How much longer is the fortress?" said Jess as she gripped the handle tighter to avoid falling out the window.

Gabriel swerved to avoid a parked car and Anne let out a small cry. "It's on the outskirts of the city. However, there's a small problem."

"Is there a roadblock or something?" She winced as the Withers let out a screech and shot a projectile. "It may be farther away now, but we'll still need everything we have!"

"When we arrive at the fortress, you'll need to light the obsidian barrier. It will create a reaction that will keep the Withers out of the Nether. In the Nether, you must find the minetracks that we set up. It will lead you to a temple. Now, the problem is..."

He drifted around a corner and Jess bit her lip to stop a squeal.

"The item you need is lost."

"The amulet, sir?" Anne said.

He nodded. "Yes, the amulet. It will allow you to find the others."

"The others...?" said Jess with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes. Soren's been missing for years, but... You _need_ to find them, my dear Jess. Even if you don't have the amulet, you can try."

Jess opened the flap of her bag and started rummaging through it. "What does the amulet look like?"

"It is a circular item with four lights in the middle."

Her breath hitched and she pulled out the item Jay and she had found earlier. "Is it this thing?"

Anne and Gabriel gasped in sync. "Where did you find that?" Anne asked breathlessly.

"Um, it fell down a garbage chute and Jay and I found one of the lights broken. On my way to the hospital to visit someone, I fixed the light. How do I use this thing to find Ellegaard and Magnus?"

"The amulet will show you the way once you get to the temple."

~*Ω*~

"Relation to this boy?"

"I'm his friend."

"What is his name?"

"Jesse Ryder."

"Yours?"

"Lukas Porter."

The nurse scribbled some onto a clipboard and gave him a sticker with some words printed on it. "You may accompany him."

Lukas put the sticker on and got in his sports car, following the ambulance from a short distance.

At the hospital, Lukas kept note of the floor and room Jesse was in and Petra's as well. He checked his watch. It had been half an hour since they were taken away to the hospital. What was happening now?

He looked out the window, expecting a normal bright blue sky as it normally was during 2:00.

Of course, he fell backwards into his butt when he saw what was really there, causing others to look outside as well.

As everyone screamed and ran outside, all he could do was sit there. Only one thought came into his mind.

 _Shit_.

~*Ω*~

"Aren't you going to come with me, Gabriel?"

"I will, Jess, but first I must take care of the citizens. Stonebrook will be in grave danger if the Withers continue to absorb the city. Not to mention they're fusing, too."

"Are you going to meet me later at the temple?"

He slammed the brakes and everyone lurched forward, Jess hitting her head on the roof of the car. "I'll make my way there later, but you mustn't wait for me. Finding the rest is our number one priority."

" _Safety_ is number one priority."

He glanced at her, unamused, and got out of the car.

Jess helped Anne out the car and she thanked the girl. "I must get going. Take care of yourself, young lady. Goodbye, sir."

Anne bowed and Jess waved to her.

"Go inside, Jess." Gabriel patted her shoulder. "There will be a piece of flint inside a chest with a steel lighter. Hurry. Take care of the amulet– never let go of it, and do not lose your way."

She nodded and ran into the fortress, ignoring the attention to detail within the walls. In normal circumstances, she would have spent hours admiring the texture.

This was not one of them.

She sprinted down the stairs to the bottom chamber and unlocked the doorway. Running in, she saw the chest and was about to open it when a large tentacle fell in front of her and knocked her away. Her body slammed into the wall as if she was only a tiny doll.

"Jess!" she heard a voice call from behind. She struggled to look up but her head was spinning and she was seeing double.

"T-the amulet..." she whispered. "I dropped it."

The clinging of the amulet was heard and someone went up to her. Through her knowledge of the previous few minute, she could tell it was Gabriel.

"Jess, you're not in any condition to continue. Don't move. I'll take care of you."

"Watch out..." she rasped.

It was too late. In the blink of an eye, Gabriel was knocked aside and the large tentacle wrapped itself around her.

"Jess, no!"

A purple tractor beam came down from above her and she started to float up, out of Gabriel's reach.

"Call the others... Not the Order, but my friends. Find Axel and Liv. Tell them to bring other people to help as well." She weakly smiled as she limply rose up higher. "I'm sorry." She then disappeared from sight, leaving the Warrior with a feeling of loss and guilt.

Gabriel gritted his teeth. "I must find that blonde boy."

~*Ω*~

 _How am I going to take care of Petra and Jesse?_

The thought raced through Lukas's mind a thousand times a second as he peeked out the window.

He was in Jesse's room, anxiously staring out the window as the Withers grew larger and larger and became an abomination.

Suddenly, a ringtone was going off on the table. Lukas got up to see what was ringing.

It was Jesse's phone, and Gabriel was calling.

Gabriel knew that Jesse was unconscious, so why would he call?

He picked up. "Gabriel?"

The cry of the Withers could be heard outside and through the speaker. " _Your name is Lukas, right?_ "

So, he wasn't calling for Jesse? "Yes."

" _You need to contact Axel and Olivia. Tell them to come to my fortress on the outskirts of town. You must come as well– and bring Jesse._ "

Lukas blinked. "But Gabriel, he's injured."

" _That's why you must take him with you._ "

The blonde considered his words and sense of urgency. "Alright. I'll call them and get there."

" _Thank you. Now hurry!_ "

The call ended abruptly and Lukas put Jesse's phone in his jacket pocket.

"Sorry, ma'am," he said, referring to the nurse in the room, "but by word of Gabriel the Warrior, I have to take the patient."

Thankfully, the nurse had just unplugged the tubes, so Lukas picked up the boy, hoisted him onto his back, and ran.

Only then did he realize something was missing. Why did Gabriel call Jesse's phone?

Why hadn't Jess called?

* * *

lonewolf3700 - **NOW YOU HAVE MOARRRR**


	25. Chapter 25

**Yes, it's like four in the morning for me and I'm sitting here posting three chapters on Fanfiction and writing one on Wattpad, but hey, I slept from four to midnight and I've been awake since then. YT has been my only friend during these dark times (literally)**

 **I'm sorry for the lack of posting on Fanfiction, Wattpad is my first priority since it's easier to work with and sometimes I _forget_ to post on Fanfiction ;^^**

 **No review replies for these chapters!**

* * *

Lukas sat Jesse down in the passenger seat and then sat himself down. Closing the doors, he drove out the parking lot and started driving to Gabriel's fortress.

As he drove, he bit his lip as he thought of Petra still lying inside her room at the hospital. Should he have taken her? The Withers might get to her before he did.

He glanced at the side mirror. The Withers were awfully close now and were right next to the hospital. How had they gotten there so quickly? He didn't want to go back to get her.

He was scared to do so.

Lukas knew it was cowardly of him, but his body refused to turn the steering wheel around. It was as if he was on autopilot.

The boy next to him let out a small groan as he stirred.

"Jesse?" he said quietly.

The brown-haired male opened his eyes slowly and ran his fingers through his hair, wincing. "Lukas? What... Where am I?"

"You're in my car."

"What happened?"

Lukas pointed at his leg. "When the first Wither broke down, some of the rubble fell onto you and injured your leg. You went unconscious from shock. We called an ambulance for you and I went with you. After they bandaged you up, Gabriel tried calling your phone."

The blonde carefully turned right around some swerving cars. "He told me to call Olivia and Axel and tell them to come to his fortress. He told me to take you, too. You know why?"

Jesse blinked. "Uhh... why?"

"Look at the side mirror."

The green-eyed twin looked at the side mirror with sudden dread. He gasped.

"Lukas, why the hell are there _eight Withers_?! And why are they fused together as some sort of gigantic monster?"

"I don't know why to both those questions, but I'm sure Gabriel knows."

"Lukas."

The Ocelot leader tried raising an eyebrow and raised both instead. "Hm?"

"Where's Jess?"

Lukas's eyes instantly flickered back to the road. "I don't know."

"What do you mean _you don't know_?" Jesse said with a dangerous, low rumble in his throat.

"I think she's with Gabriel because she last was with him. By the way, she told me to follow you to the hospital. If I had known eight more of those weird Wither things were going to show up, I would never have left her."

"Get to the temple _as fast_ as you can. I'm not fucking losing her today."

Jesse looked at Lukas who had a face of surprise and shock. "Oh," he mouthed. "Excuse my French."

~*Ω*~

"I took some crutches for you," said Lukas as he curved around to the back of the car. Pulling them out the trunk, he gave them to Jesse. "Here, now let's hurry inside. It seems the Withers have already been here."

With Jesse limping on the crutches, they got in slower than they expected but still managed to get down to the bottom chamber. There was Gabriel, sitting against the wall with one hand gingerly rubbing the lights.

"Gabriel!" called Jesse.

The Warrior glanced up and ran to them. "Thank goodness you're here. Olivia and Axel are already in the Nether. You need to go with them immediately before it shuts you out. They'll tell you everything."

"Okay," nodded Jesse. He ran as fast as he could with the crutches.

Lukas was still standing next to Gabriel. "Gabriel, my friend Petra is still in the hospital. I think the Withers are going to get her..."

"Petra? As in the redhead?"

"Y-yeah, that Petra. You know her?"

Gabriel ignored his question. "Damn! Why didn't you take her?"

"I was scared, sir! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been such a scaredy-cat."

Gabriel sighed. "It's fine, Lukas. For now, just go through the obsidian border. I'll go and try to get her."

"But what about you, sir?"

"I'll be fine. Just go!"

In a panic, Lukas frantically ran after Jesse when he heard the Withers cry just outside the fortress. "Jesse! The Withers are here!"

"Crap!" shouted Jesse as he tried to hurry. Lukas caught up to him, but not before the Withers dropped a large tentacle down into the chamber.

"Duck!" Lukas yelled. The tentacle swung around and they dodged it. They kept running.

Then another tentacle dropped down into the chamber. Lukas was about to warn Jesse but the tentacle slammed right into him, sending both Lukas and Jesse through the obsidian border.

~*Ω*~

Jesse could feel his face burning as he entered the Nether. It wasn't the netherrack he was laying on, it was due to something the obsidian border was emitting. When he entered it, it was like his skin was being pulled off piece by piece.

"Jesse! Lukas!" cried a female voice. Jesse looked up to see who it was.

"Olivia?"

"Don't forget me," said another voice, this time male.

"Hey, Axel," Jesse said.

"Lukas? Hey, Lukas? Wake up," Olivia whispered to the blonde who was also laying on the netherrack. He opened his eyes with a few flutters and then groaned.

"That hurt really badly..." he winced.

"What happened?" said Olivia.

"We... we were making our way here when some sort of Wither tentacle dropped down and knocked us into here," replied Jesse. "Is Jess here?"

Both Axel and Olivia sent each other a glance and Olivia bit her lip.

"Um, Jesse... the Withers took her."

His eyes widened and he stared at them in horror. "No. You're lying."

"We're not kidding, Jesse. You can even ask Gabriel when he comes back."

"No. No. That isn't true. You can't tell me Jess is gone. She's been by my side every single day."

"I'm sorry, Jesse," Axel spoke up, "but we wouldn't be using this excuse as a reason to play games with you. The Wither monster things took her."

Jesse's eyes were glossing over, reflecting the red-orange light emitted from a nearby pool of lava.

"Wait, guys, someone's going through the border!"

The strange semi-permeable wall the border had created from lighting it started to fizzle and spark. They all watched, each person hoping it was a certain someone coming through.

It wasn't her.

" _Ivor_?" spat Jesse.

"Hey, you're the guy that created that first Wither!" shouted Lukas.

Ivor growled. "You again."

Before Jesse could say anything in return, a large tentacle diffused through the wall, smacking Ivor on the back of the head. Ivor, holding his head, got as far away from the tentacle as he could. The tentacle swung around violently, almost hitting Jesse. Then, the wall started to flicker as if there was a glitch, blinking a few times. The large appendage started to curl up in pain and the wall fizzled. Retreating, the tentacle disappeared to the other side before the wall sparked and became solid.

As everyone got back up again, Jesse glared at the oriental man. "Ivor."

The man mentioned reciprocated his look. "You ruined _everything_."

The rest of the group crowded around Jesse, as if making a protective barrier. "Don't pretend you didn't have any part of this."

Jesse simply kept glaring at him, unable to back down. "At least pay Petra the right amount of money next time."

"Ah, the girl. I saw her."

Lukas accidentally shoved himself in front of Jesse. "Where?" Axel seemed to have the same interest.

"She was at the hospital. I was there to pick up some extra materials. The Withers were destroying everything, blowing up patients and even absorbing them. Yet, instead of running away, she was running towards it. Such bravery. Of course, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and your friend has crossed it."

With no hesitation, Jesse walked right up to Ivor's face and stared at him. He lifted his fist and punched the man right across the cheek.

Backing away, he listened as Ivor sighed. "More needless violence. It solves nothing. Learn your lesson now or else you'll share Gabriel's fate. You don't even realize you're in danger- _right now_."

An unfamiliar screech cried out behind the small group. "What was that?!" blurted Axel. "I would wish you good luck," said Ivor, "but luck won't carry you through the Nether. You have my sympathies."

With a final smirk, Ivor disappeared behind some Netherrack.

A large white creature with white, wispy strand-like tentacles hovered into sight, almost seemingly like a jellyfish. Its eyes opened, revealing the blood red orbs that stared down on them.

Jesse knew what was coming next.

"RUN!"


	26. Chapter 26 and Extra Side-story!

"Wait!" shouted Lukas. He ran past the others and picked up a circular object. It was the strange amulet thing Jesse and his sister had found earlier.

"Put it somewhere safe so we can run!" yelled Jesse. They all started running in the direction Ivor had gone and checked their backs periodically to see if the floating jellyfish thing was still there.

"I think it's a ghast!" Olivia said over the screeching. Axel shook his head vehemently. "This is not the time for learning about new creatures in our environment!"

Girly squealing echoed throughout the Nether. Suddenly, Lukas shouted, "Look! A bunch of carts!"

"Let's get in- wait, where's Jesse?" said Olivia, turning her head frantically.

"Over there!" said Axel, pointing at a spot behind them. Jesse had lost control of his crutches and had fallen, unable to get up. Axel ran over to Jesse and picked him up, throwing him over the shoulder. Olivia came as well and grabbed the crutches before darting back to the carts, Axel following closely behind.

"Go, go, go!" shouted Lukas! They helped Jesse in, gave him the crutches, and then all jumped into separate carts behind him. Just as the ghast caught up with them and seemed as if it was going to do something, their carts started up and rolled away.

Jesse winced and gripped his crutches and the side of his cart. "Everybody, hold on!"

Now that the ghast was gone, the ride was many times more peaceful. Lukas took this time to admire his surroundings. "Wow. The Nether."

"Yeah..." whispered Olivia. "That is a _lot_ of lava. And fire. And other things that could burn you to death."

Jesse's eyes widened when he caught sight of what was up ahead. He made a small cry, yelling, "Oh no!" and Lukas inhaled sharply.

"Oh, that's a drop," the blonde said with shaky breaths, "that is very, _very_ much a drop."

Axel furrowed his brows. "What are you talking about, new guy? What dro– _Oh, crap!_ You weren't kidding."

"Here we go!" Jesse winced as his leg started to throb. He put his hands in the air anyway.

With a rush of air coming over them, they were down the drop and bounced once as they returned to a flat track.

Jesse saw another obstacle and instead of a frightened cry this time, he said it in disbelief. "Oh, no."

The netherrack was low enough to just barely pass over the carts, much to the group's dismay. With only seconds to act, they curled down and got as low as they could, sliding under the netherrack.

The brown-haired boy looked back. He let out a breath and turned around. He had only a millisecond to register the second wall of netherrack.

With a yelp, he ducked again, checking behind him again to make sure everyone was okay. He turned around.

"Okay, so, I'm not the only one seeing that we're running out of track, right?" Axel piped up from the back cart.

"No!" cried Lukas. The blonde clenched the edges of his cart even tighter.

"Good!"

From the glow of the lava around them, Jesse could spot something like a lever next to the track. What if he–

"Jesse!" shouted Olivia from behind him. "That switch! Now! Do it!"

"Ohh, arms, don't fail me now..." he breathed. Leaning out the side of the cart, he outstretched his right arm. He struggled to stretch it more. "I can't reach out far enough, my legs–"

"I got it!" exclaimed Axel. The carts eventually passed by the switch and Axel flipped it with a move of his arm.

With a violent jerk, the ground started to lower and they dropped down to a different track. Jesse chuckled awkwardly.

"Wow. I thought something bad was going to happen there, but-" he chortled- "I guess everything's going to be–"

His cart turned a sharp corner and he leaned to the side to not fall out. Looking to his side, he could see the others taking different paths and he gasped. Not long after, he passed by a large wall of netherrack, blocking his view of the others. There was silence except for the sounds of lava bubbling.

"Uhh, Axel? Olivia? Lukas? _Anybody?!_ " he called out. No one answered.

With another turn, the wall was gone and now a zombie pigman holding a lovely golden Knight's sword was perched inside a cart running next to him. His reflex thought was to punch it, but he held himself back, especially when the sword gleamed in the light.

"I'm... not going to punch you, dude. Don't worry. I don't think I need your friends coming after me."

How sad it was. With a closer look, the zombie pigman really was a human who had been tested on with pig DNA. Despite its horrendous look, Jesse could only feel pity for it.

"You know," he started to the pigman who looked at him with curiosity, "earlier I said everything was going to be just fine. I was wrong. However, I have a very good feeling about this time– Whoa!"

For the third time, he was interrupted with incoming danger. Ducking his head, a large ghast flew over, its wispy tentacles grazing his hair. He looked up, groaning when two more ghasts appeared from behind it.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Jesse yelled. Then he gasped when he remembered something. The boy looked down at the crutches in his lap and made a face before shaking his head. He turned to the pigman. "Can I borrow this?" He gestured to the sword and the pigman made no sign of response. "Whatever, thanks." He carefully removed the sword from the pigman's hand and held it up towards the ghasts.

"Let's see if you were right about that baseball thing, Gabriel."

The ghast in the middle cried out and Jesse winced. With a loud screech, it spat out a large fireball directly towards the green-eyed male.

Jesse raised the sword over his shoulder and then waited two seconds for the fireball to get closer.

1... 2...

A grunt escaped his mouth as he swung the sword around full circle, hitting the fireball and returning it to its sender. The fireball struck the ghast and it cried out one last time before falling down into the lava and incinerating.

The other two seemed to now be enraged at the death of their fellow friend and spat out fireballs simultaneously. Jesse swung again and hit the first fireball which ricocheted off the second one and destroyed a large section of netherrack to his right. The second fireball flew all the way back to the ghast on the left and knocked it down, sending it into the lava.

Now the last ghast on his right was completely infuriated and did not hesitate to fly closer and launch another flaming ball of death. With the last amount of energy he had, Jesse hit it back, killing the ghast.

He slumped back into his cart, releasing the tension in his muscles with a sigh. "Well, ghasts are _officially_ crossed off my to-see list. Done with the ghasts. Never need to see them again."

Jesse turned his head to get a better look at the zombie pigman who was unfazed by the previous events. "Thanks for the bat," he coughed, sliding it back into the pigman's hand. The pigman snorted and seemingly shrugged.

The cart turned again and now there was no pigman by Jesse's side. He looked around frantically. "No! Pigman buddy, where'd you go?!" The cart then slanted upwards and he groaned louder than last time. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad..."

The metal cart flew off the track into the air and Jesse screamed. _This is where I die_.

* * *

 **That's the end of the chapter! Thanks for reading! I'm very sorry these chapters took a long time to come out, but most of it was just copying the actual game and I was struggling to find ways to mix it up a bit.**

 **Now, here's that extra scene that I also promised in the last chapter but forgot to put in even though it has nothing to do with the actual story... *deep breath***

* * *

Light.

So bright...

Petra winced and unzipped her sleeping bag. What time was it?

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and yawned. _8:00 AM_. From the intensity of the sun rays outside, she would have guessed it was 11 or 12.

 _Time to get back before Anna and Richard wake up_ , she thought. Petra threw off the cover of the sleeping bag and squirmed out, picking it up and folding it.

She recalled the events that happened only a few hours ago before she ended up here in this cave. Last night was a strange experience. She had bought a brand new car through underground sellers to sell it to a man who had bought multiple things from her before.

When she arrived at the described back door around two in the morning, the man was already there, drunk and passed out on top of some garbage. With a light tap on the face, she attempted waking him up.

"Uh, hey. Excuse me? Can you get up?"

No response.

"Aw, come _on_ , dude!" she groaned, kicking a can away. "It's been nice working with you, but if you can't do business, then don't do it in the first place." The ginger walked away, turning into a nearby store.

She took a seat next to a window and took out her phone. Tapping in *67, she entered the rest of the numbers in and waited for her other client to pick up.

" _So, he didn't buy it?_ "

Petra crossed her legs. "No. Still going to meet up nearby the abandoned farm?"

" _But of course_."

"Alright. Be there or be square."

She ended the call and left the store, crossing the dimly-lit street to retrieve her motorcycle.

After a few minutes of driving around the outskirts of town, she arrived at the farm and walked in. "Hello?"

"Over here," said a rough voice to her side.

"Ah." Petra turned to face the man hidden in shadow. "If you want the car, it'll be at least five thousand dollars. That's my best offer."

"Five thousand? I'm not sure I have enough. I only have four thousand on me."

"If you only had four grand, I'm sure you wouldn't have been here since I told you 'at least nine thousand dollars should be brought' in the morning," she continued, leaning on one leg.

"Oh? But I don't remember you saying that, Petra." said the man.

"Well then, either clean out your musty ears or miss the deal. You have those two choices."

"Alright, fine. Here's six thousand." He opened a well-hidden suitcase behind him and threw a stack of cash in front of her feet. "Take it."

She leaned over to pick up the cash and checked the bills, making sure they were real and not counterfeit. When the watermark appeared, she smirked. "Here's the address," she said, handing him a slip of paper. "Get there during daylight or else you'll miss your chance. The workers there have been holding on to that car for a while and would gladly get rid of it any moment now."

He snatched the paper and grumbled. "Fine. Now, what about _that_ thing?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you where it is, but I can give you a hint. Before that, have you paid for it yet?"

"Yes, I paid the treasurer ten grand in gold. Now if you don't tell me, I'm going to make you regret it."

"Alright," she chuckled, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Here's your hint: _Follow the king and the blade will fall, we shall be free even if it means nothing at all._ "

"What's that supposed to mean?" snarled the man who curled his hands into fists. "That's absolute nonsense in a rhyme!"

"It's fairly simple once you figure it out. Heck, even I wasn't told where it was and I figured it out the general location within two minutes, so you better be able to catch up, old man."

"I am not old."

She shrugged. "If you don't realize what the answer is, I'll have to call you old man." Petra's watch rung and she checked the time. "Time's up. I've got to go. You've got your car and your hint, and I've got my money. We're set. Just send another call if you ever need anything else underground."

Petra left the farmhouse and hopped onto her motorcycle, starting up the engine. After putting on her helmet, the lights turned on and she instantly drove off, following the dark path.

She knew some people were unsatisfied with their deals, but she didn't think that some small percentage of those people would start following her with an entire squadron of cars. The bad part was that they weren't police cars. They were black, armored cars with heavily tinted windows. To add some more, a helicopter with a search light was hovering over her, the light shining down on her.

"What have I done?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. Slowing down, she pulled over to the curb and looked around at the large group of people exiting the cars. They all wore black tuxedoes and that typical 'suspicious character' fedora hat. The clacking of their dress shoes against the blacktop was ubiquitous and blocked out any other sounds excluding the _whirr_ of the helicopter above. For some reason, they also thought it smart to be wearing tinted sunglasses at night.

She dared not take off her helmet in case of any firearms. The last thing she needed was to sneak home with a bloody hole in her head. Also, showing her emotions wasn't exactly a smart idea during this time either. If any of them saw mischief or feigned fright in her eyes, she would have been better off rolling down a large hill with dead trees and cacti.

"Hey," she nodded to some of the fedora men.

"Petra, you haven't given the location of the Golden Chalice," said a man behind her who stepped up and removed his glasses. "but you gave me a stupid riddle. What I paid for was the location. Now, if you don't give me the location, we're going to have to take you in."

She turned her neck and scrutinized the figure of the man. "So that's what you look like. Well, sir, I don't know the actual location."

"You said you figured out where the Chalice was."

"I said the _general_ location. You still haven't cleaned out your ears."

He growled but put his hands behind his back to restrain himself. "Where is this general location?"

"Think about it. _Follow the king and the blade will fall, we shall be free even if it means nothing at all_. What places in the world had kings?"

"Are you giving me a history lesson?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. Now do you know or should I continue on with my life?"

"Urgh. Britain. Spain. France. Afri–"

"Correct. Now, what places out of those you just mentioned had 'falling blades'?"

The man looked stumped and he stared at her motorcycle before looking back up at her. "What is a 'falling blade'?"

"Think about it, old man! You were probably alive during this time."

"Why, you little–"

She laughed, interrupting him. "It's really not that difficult. What type of machinery had falling blades?"

"... Guillotines?"

"Correct. What place had guillotines?"

"France... Oh, _oh_ , it's _France_!"

"Correct. Now let me go home and take a nap."

He shook his head and pointed a gun at her, clicking something into place. "You're not going anywhere."

She simply stared at him through the tinted glass of her helmet and turned around. "Bye."

A gunshot rang behind her but Petra had already gotten out of range. She could hear the man shouting, "Follow her, follow her!" She furrowed her brow and thought of ways to escape.

That was it.

Up the trail was a large ramp into a closed off area due to 'construction'. However, after plenty of times smuggling food into the area, she knew her way around it and also knew that there was actually no construction at all.

Speeding up, she allowed herself to go past 100 miles and took a separate path, a road that only idiots like her would have seen while normal people would continue on the main road.

She allowed her bike to continue getting faster and faster before the ramp came into view. Taking a quick glance behind her, she flew up the ramp and jumped off the bike.

Falling through the crisp air, she caught a quick glimpse of the trees and the color of the sky before blacking out.

When she woke up, her body was wet and smelly. She had landed in the water and her bike was not too far off. Nothing was broken and nothing was missing, so she brought her bike over to a nearby cave and started a fire. After a while, she started to shiver, so she pulled out a spare blanket from her bike's back compartment and wrapped it around her, scooting closer to the fire. That was when she fell asleep and someone also wandering the restricted area helped her into a sleeping bag and left her some food by the fire.

Now that Petra thought about it, who was the person that came by? She was surprised they didn't steal her bike or take her somewhere while she was sleeping. Heck, they even left her gourmet microwave mac and cheese.

After packing everything into her compartment and eating the mac and cheese, she smiled. All that just for a shiny cup to hold stuff in?

She should have just told the man the Golden Chalice was just a toilet that had become famous as a meme in France.

Then again, when did she ever have to tell anyone _anything_?

* * *

 **That's it for the extra side-story! There was no lesson or moral to it, just something that happened to her in this alternate universe because a lot of things simply happen for the sake of existing :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**I watched the first episode of season two not too long ago, and let me just say this, I'm excited! The choices you make really do affect the storyline! I'll definitely buy season two when it's on sale!**

* * *

The minecart landed with a violent jolt and elicited a yelp from Jesse, who almost bounced right out the minecart. Squeezing his eyes shut, the minecart bumped harshly into something else, and when the cart seemed to be running normally again, he opened his eyes cautiously.

In front of him was Axel, Olivia, and Lukas, who had all turned their heads around to him. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"Is... ha... Is everyone okay?" he asked.

They all blinked at him. "I mean, I'm not dead," said Axel as he turned to face forward, "so that's _pretty_ good."

Olivia nodded and turned around. "Ditto. Ditto with the not dead."

Lukas stared in front of him in shock. "I just can't believe people actually come here. This place is awful." Then he laughed. "Your throat's gonna be sore later, Axel." The male mentioned raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The blonde shrugged and smiled. "I'm just sayin'. Wasn't that you doing all that screaming before? Sounded like you were really shredding your larynx."

Olivia perked up and turned around to look at Lukas. "Oh yeah, I heard that too. Really high-pitched? Sounded like a squeaky piston?"

Axel scoffed and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "What? No. Shut up."

Lukas and Olivia giggled and the former sighed. "Never mind," he said through an infectious smile, "must've been something else."

"I think I handled myself pretty well, seeing as I had to fight back against a few ghasts," Jesse said from the back, shifting to accommodate his leg better. He then squinted at the memory, mumbling, "Never want to see them again."

A few minutes later, they ended in some sort of nether brick station and exited their minecarts, groggily walking up the stairs. "Can you throw up, like, inside your stomach?" Jesse said while grabbing his crutches. He looked as if he was about to hurl.

"Uh-huh," said Olivia. "I know because I just did, about five times."

As they reached the top of the stairs, Lukas let out a gasp. "Wow. Look at this place!"

Olivia looked around, observing the other tracks that seemed to connect to the station, and then faced the group. "All these tracks converge at this point. You could probably get anywhere in the world from here."

"Well, it seems like we're by the obsidian barrier again," Jesse added. "Sucks we can't see what on the other side until we go through."

"This... is what Gabriel was talking about, wasn't he?" asked Lukas.

"That's our way out," pointed Axel.

Olivia took a step closer. "It must lead back to the surface. Finally, we can get out of this hellhole of a place."

"The surface is also where that creature is," Lukas blurted out. Axel, who was about to go through the barrier, stopped in his tracks.

Jesse gripped his crutches, his green eyes glassy. "He's right. Who knows what we're walking into? If it took my sister so easily, what would happen to us?"

Axel seemed to hesitate walking through when Jess was brought up and scratched his neck.

"Thanks for being so brave, Axel," whispered Lukas.

Axel's face hardened and he looked determined to pass through the barrier. "All right. I'm gonna go. I'm going. I'm going right now." He looked behind, a small amount of worry transmitting to the others, and then turned around again. "Like, right, right now."

"You can do it, Axel." Jesse smiled at the large black-haired male and Axel smiled as well. "That's right, I _can_ do it."

The brown-haired boy gave him a thumbs up. "Whatever's on the other side has no idea what it's got coming."

Axel nodded. "Alright, here I go. Thanks, Jesse."

He turned around, taking a step closer.

"I'm right behind you," encouraged Jesse.

"Be safe, Axel," nodded Olivia.

Axel put one foot through, disappearing. "Ready or not, here I come." The rest of him went through and was now out of sight.

The other three looked at each other, Jesse shrugging. With some struggle, he hobbled through the barrier, closing his eyes.

~*Ω*~

A strange ringing took refuge in Jesse's ears, and he swatted at his earlobe to temporarily stop it.

"Aah!" someone cried, splashing around. "Get offa me!"

Jesse rubbed his eyes, stuck in surprise for a few seconds. When he was back in reality, he threw himself into the water to help Axel out.

A fox had attached itself to Axel's sweater with its claws and was biting into his hair. Jesse brought one of his crutches up and swiped at the fox, close enough to graze its nose. The fox yelped and then leaped off of Axel, scampering away.

"Oh man," panted Jesse. "That was close. How did it even get on you?"

"It pounced on me from above," Axel wheezed, pointing at the crevasse. His sleeve started dripping water, the splash hitting Jesse's face. Axel shook his head, bringing his arm down. "I'm never going first again."

After some scrambling over the rocks, Jesse and Axel were now on dry land, standing on fresh grass that waved in the wind. Olivia was now present and was helped up by the other two. "Where are we?" she asked, brushing some grass off her pants.

Jesse looked up at the moon. "In the dark, in the middle of nowhere."

Lukas appeared from behind Olivia and dried his hands. "Maybe we should bed down for the night. It's dangerous to be out when it's this dark."

"I thought we were headed for a temple," Axel said.

Olivia tilted her head and tried getting a glimpse of _something_. "We're looking for a giant building. It should be pretty obvious."

Tapping his chin, Lukas thought about what Ivor had said to them back in the Nether. "Ivor said–"

"Ohh, _'Ivor said,'_ " mocked Axel. "Well then, maybe this is the temple." He whispered to Olivia. "I'm being sarcastic." She simply gave him a look of annoyance. "Axel, come on."

Jesse rolled his eyes at the small quarrel. "The Order wouldn't build all that track for nothing," he started with a hint of irritation. "It's gotta be here somewhere."

"Yeah," Lukas agreed in a monotone voice, wincing. "That's what I was thinking."

"I was agreeing with you, so I don't know what you're talking about," huffed Axel.

Jesse leaned on his left crutch. "We have to make... uh..."

The large, burly male stared at him. "Uhh..."

"Shelter," Jesse finished.

" _Shelter!_ " smiled Axel. "I was going to say shelter."

"Let's build a treehou- oh, wait," sighed Olivia. "We can't do a treehouse because Jesse won't be able to climb up."

"Let's just do a quick and dirty hut," suggested Axel. "It'll be quick to make."

"Guys? Whatever we do, we have to do it fast," interjected Lukas.

Axel and Olivia looked at each other and then to Jesse.

He thought for a while before speaking. "I mean... we won't have enough time to do either. And yeah, I wouldn't be able to climb the treehouse either. Why don't we just use that small cave over there?"

He pointed to a small tunnel-like cave behind Lukas and Olivia and Lukas nodded. "I'm fine with that."

"Come on, let's hurry, guys. Grab some wood for a fire and some large branches to cover the front with," Olivia commanded.

"Completely forgot about making a fire," said Jesse.

"Hey, look, there's a large piece of wood over there," Axel shouted.

"Alright, everyone, find what you can and then meet up in the cave. I'll go sit inside since I won't really be of much use to anyone," Jesse noted.

They all nodded and Jesse limped over to the inside of the cave. He leaned against the wall and carefully sat himself down.

He pulled out his phone and stared at the lockscreen. With a trembling voice, he whispered, " _I wish you were here right now._ " Then he opened his phone, bringing up the phone app, a fixed gaze on the first name in the favorites list.

He pressed it and put the phone on speaker, waiting for the other person to pick up.

" _Hello? Jay?_ "

"Hi, mom."

* * *

 **Question: What's your favorite scene/episode in season one and why? Mine would be episode four's cave scene because that's when the atmosphere really darkened and it seemed like there was no hope. And then Lukas might leave you and you also talk to Reuben in the snow and everyone splits up– I don't know, it was really memorable to me and it really was where the emotions all compiled together in all the right ways. Telltale did a very good job with that scene.**


	28. Chapter 28 - i'm so sorry omg

**Last time i updated was August 1... It's now November 1...**

 **I'M SORRY! *sobs***

* * *

" _Jay, oh, my darling, I've been trying to call you for hours! I saw what happened in the city on the news, and I- I got so scared! Are you okay?_ "

"I- Yeah, I am. I'm okay." Jesse winced through his lie and hoped she would take that for an answer.

" _Oh, thank Notch. Have you hurt anywhere? Where are you?_ "

"I'm okay, Mom. I just have a few cuts here and there." Yeah, it wasn't like his leg was _broken_ and he _seriously_ wanted to cry right now. "I'm taking shelter in a cave right now with Axel, Olivia, and Lukas. We're all far away from Stonebrook."

" _Bless your friends for staying with you. But... you didn't say Jess. Where is she?_ "

Jesse's breath hitched and he got caught on his first word, unable to say anything more. What was he supposed to tell her? He knew he should call to confirm he was okay, and yes, he was going to tell her about Jess as well, but _how_ was he supposed to explain? His mother was going to be heartbroken. And when his father would find out as well...

"Mom, I... Please don't freak out too much."

" _J-Jesse_?" She called him by his full name. That usually didn't happen; something was going to crack in her usual demeanor. " _Wh-What are you saying?_ "

He took a deep breath and slowly told her. "Jess was taken by that abomination, that Wither."

There was silence over the phone and Jesse knew there was going to be some difficulty processing what he had just said. But he couldn't blame her. He still couldn't understand it himself. Despite wanting to scream and break down, he was just frozen, numb. What was wrong with him?

" _Jesse... Jesse, you can't be telling me the truth. That can't be real, no..._ "

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Those few words seemed to send the twin's mother into a frenzy and she started crying and wailing through the phone, giving Jesse plenty of guilt for having to be the bearer of bad news.

" _My daughter! My precious daughter... Jess! Jess, of all people, was sucked into that- that_ monster _! How could I be so unlucky?! How could I let this happen to my children again?!_ "

Again? What did she mean by 'again'?

Not long after, a man's voice was heard over the phone, saying, " _Belle, what is going on? What's wrong? Who are you on the phone with?_ "

His mother couldn't answer and she passed the phone to the man.

" _Hello?_ "

"Hey, Dad. I'm sorry. I'm-" his voice cracked with emotion- "I'm so sorry." He struggled to say those last few words in a caught breath which turned into a hiccup. He felt his nose tickling and knew he was about to let it all out.

" _Jay? What happened to you? What did you say to your mother?_ "

"I- I had to get away from that monster in Stonebrook. I made it out with Axel and Olivia, plus my other friend Lukas. But not all of us made it out."

" _Are you going to say what I think you're going to say?_ "

"..." No words left Jesse's mouth. He was too busy trying not to fall apart, his hand covered over his mouth.

" _Jay... Jay, you can't be serious._ "

"I'm- I couldn't do anything, Dad, I'm so sorry, that thing took her, I'm sorry...!"

"..." There was no response from the other side.

The brown-haired twin slowly gave up trying to hide it and started weeping, his nose running. Eventually, that weep turned into a loud cry, echoing off the walls of the cave.

" _Jay, we've got to go... We'll call you later._ "

The call ended and Jesse buried his face into his hands, unable to wipe away all the mucus from his nose. The tears just kept coming and coming and he couldn't do anything to stop them. That was when he realized he had been in shock until now, hence why he wasn't able to feel much in the beginning.

The realization didn't help much now since he was already breaking down.

He sobbed so much he wasn't able to breathe and struggled to sit up.

Damn, now all he could think about was Jess.

He couldn't think about her, not right now. He needed to be stable to help his friends get to the Order's temple. That was the objective.

But he still couldn't get Jess out of his head.

 _Calm down, Jay_ , he told himself. Slowly, he started inhaling and exhaling. Eventually, his breath stopped shaking and had a calm rhythm to it. Instead of a sob, he now had a small hiccup. The tears still kept coming but that was alright. He felt better.

The green orbs of his eyes were slowly being hidden as he closed his eyelids, relaxing. Resting his head against the wall of the cave, he emptied his thoughts and let his body relax.

Now to just wait for the others to come back...

~*Ω*~

A fire was being tended to by Lukas and Axel and Olivia started covering the front of the cave with large lean-tos of wood planks and branches.

Jesse watched as the embers flew out from the warm flame. "I guess we should make a plan for the morning."

Lukas stood up and walked in a small circle as he collected his thoughts. "Well, my guess is, if we split up from here and—"

"Hey, what are you doing?" said Axel. He stopped working on the front and walked up to Lukas.

"I'm... making a plan?" The Ocelot leader scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I don't appreciate it."

"Back off, Axel," sighed Jesse. "He's just trying to help."

Axel softly glared at Jesse but backed away.

"As I was saying, if we split up from here, we can all search for the temple and cover more ground. Someone would have to be with Jesse, since his leg is still in bad shape."

"I think I'll just stay in the cave until you guys find it. I have a lot to think about." Jesse leaned back and hitched his arm on his other leg.

"Understandable," nodded Olivia, who sat down in front of the fire.

"Guys, you won't believe this." Everyone looked at Axel who had his back turned.

"What is it?" said Jesse.

"I. Have. _Cookies_."

"Heck yeah! I really needed one today," Olivia smiled.

Axel started passing them out one by one. One to Olivia, one to Jesse, and he kept one for himself. He shrugged to Lukas. "Sorry, Lukas. I only have _three_."

Lukas nervously chuckled and shook his head. "N-no, it's fine. I'm not really hungry." As he sat down, a small rumble erupted from his stomach and he blushed in embarrassment.

"Doesn't _sound_ like you're not hungry," stated Olivia.

Lukas groaned and buried his face in his knee.

Jesse contemplated over something, staring at his cookie and then at Lukas.

"You know, I don't think I could eat this right now," Jesse sighed. "I've already got too much on my plate. Figuratively. You can have it." He held out the cookie towards Lukas.

The blonde shook his head. "No, I couldn't do that. It's yours."

Jesse pushed himself up, shoving his crutches to the side. With some difficulty, he stood up on his one good leg and hopped over to Lukas, who, thankfully, wasn't too far away. "I insist."

Lukas regarded the cookie and then took it. "Thank you, Jesse."

As Jesse hopped back, Axel crossed his arms and glared at him. "What was that for?" he almost snarled. Jesse rolled his eyes and didn't respond, sitting back down.

The group was silent for a little while. Lukas poked at the fire with a branch, Jesse watched the embers fly, Olivia stared at her lap, and Axel was still standing, arms _still_ crossed in irritation.

"What would you rather fight?" said Olivia, looking up from the ground. "Zombies the size of chickens or chickens the size of zombies?"

Jesse smiled at Olivia. "Ha, I remember this game! Hmm..."

Lukas chuckled lightly, nodding. "Heh, that's a good one. Let me think about it for a bit."

"How can you guys be joking around at a time like this?" Axel stepped away from where he was leaning on the wall, throwing his arms in the air. "Jess is still out there- that _monster_ is still out there."

"She'd want us to keep our spirits up, Axel," exhaled Jesse, his face falling. "You know she would do this if she were here."

"I haven't known her long, but I'm pretty sure she would try to do that," added Lukas.

" _Your_ opinion doesn't matter," growled Axel.

"Okay, what have I ever done to you?" Lukas stood up and glared at the burly black-haired male.

"You keep trying to act like one of us and you're taking charge of everything, just like that!"

"I'm just trying to help, even Jesse said so!"

"Listen, we don't need you here, so why don't you just leave?"

"We can't do that!" Olivia blurted, standing up. "It's dangerous out there!"

"Jesse, your friend is _way_ out of line!" hissed Lukas.

"Stop it, both of you!" Jesse screamed. Everyone stopped in surprise. Never had they seen Jesse so fierce. "If we want to stop this Wither... storm-thing, we have to work together. So sit down."

"This is all your fault," Axel spat at Lukas.

"You know what, maybe I should just leave," Lukas winced. "Someone doesn't want me here, so it would be for the better if I left."

"We're _not_ doing that," Olivia repeated, glaring at Axel.

"You're staying with us," enforced Jesse. "We can't let you go out there on your own. Sit down."

Lukas looked around before deciding to sit. Axel huffed, rolling his eyes, before going to stand in the corner again. Olivia sat down and scooted closer to the fire.

"I think I'd fight the chickens."

Olivia and Jesse looked at Lukas. "Why?" asked Olivia.

"Because I'm _starving_."


	29. Chapter 29

**I'm so sorry D:**

 **I really try to update often, but sometimes I just forget about fanfiction the website... for a few months...**

 **(I'm so dead it's December now what even)**

 **So to make up for that, I'm going to post a bunch of chapters at the same time and overwhelm everyone's email. :D**

 **Sorry!**

 **No review replies at the end of the chapter since it's been a while.**

* * *

In the morning, the group set off to find the temple, or at least, everyone else except for Jesse. He stayed behind in the cave, waiting for any sort of signal that the temple was found.

Thankfully, it was morning. Had it been nightfall without a fire, Jesse would have gone mad by the lack of interaction and sensory stimulation. During the day, he could just watch the clouds fly by and the leaves flutter in the wind.

As he was watching the grass roll, a strange thought came to Jesse's mind. How did he get service here all the way in the middle of nowhere? There were no power lines from what he could tell.

He pulled out his phone and checked how many bars he had.

It was a full four bars!

 _Holy crap_ , he thought. Maybe if the others followed the signal, they could find the temple!

He called Olivia and waited for her to pick up. When she did, Jesse shared his idea and Olivia happily agreed to try, saying the others were also relieved at the idea. It would make searching a lot easier than just splitting up.

Not too long after the call, Jesse heard someone shout, "Hey, there's something over that way!" Another voice, who was probably Olivia since it was female, called out, "What is it?" The first voice, presumably Lukas, shouted back, "It looks like some sort of building!" Olivia yelled, "Alright, I'll go help Jesse over there!"

As soon as that last sentence was said, Jesse grabbed his crutches and pushed himself up, steadying himself. Adjusting them, he moved to the front of the cave and was met by Olivia.

"Nice to see you were ready," she smiled. "Let's go!"

Jesse smiled and nodded, following her.

In the early daylight, he could see the light reflecting off of Luka's leather jacket in the distance and he tried to speed up his pace. Olivia started to briskly walk as well.

"Hey, Lukas!" Jesse looked up and waved at the Ocelot who turned around and waved back. "What can you see from up there?"

"I think it's the temple! It looks really big!"

"Alright!" Then he muttered to himself, "Now to find a way around..."

Eventually, Olivia found a way around and Jesse made it to the other side of the small cliff. Lukas climbed down using the vines and hopped to them when he reached the bottom. The three smiled at each other and Jesse admired the dilapidated building in front of them.

"We made it."

Lukas and Olivia grinned at Jesse and they all high-fived each other.

"Wait a second, where's Axel?" Olivia piped up.

Both Lukas and Jesse blinked in surprise and Lukas's face fell. "He shouldn't be too far off," Jesse pondered, looking around. "You guys should go find him."

"I don't think I should go," Lukas quivered. "Axel doesn't exactly find me as an _acquaintance_."

The dark-skinned girl bit her lip in worry but Jesse waved it off, nodding for her to go find Axel. He turned back to Lukas who was looking down, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, you okay? Axel will come around, don't worry."

"I don't know. I really didn't like how it all went down last night. Maybe I should've left."

"No, we're a team. We're going to stick together no matter what. Axel just isn't used to having others in his circle, especially since he's protective of us and, well, some... _conflicts_ happened between you and me in the past. Just don't let Axel bother you. He'll warm up eventually and soon, we'll all be able to put this in the past."

"I- I just..." The blonde sighed. "Thank you, Jesse."

"No problem."

Jesse patted Lukas's back and they waited for Olivia and Axel to return. After about 15 minutes, they came back and Axel admitted to them that he had gotten distracted and tried chasing after a wild squirrel.

"If I could run, I'd chase a squirrel, too," joked Jesse. Axel shrugged.

"Are, um, are we sure this is the Order's temple?" Olivia worried after a few seconds.

"Well, it's the first real building we've seen in this area _and_ it's the _only_ one," answered Lukas.

"Plus..." Jesse turned to Lukas. "You- still have that amulet thing, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I do." Lukas opened the inside of his jacket and pulled out the amulet, handing it to Jesse.

Jesse held up the amulet and looked at a large, run-down symbol-like thing above the entrance. Although the symbol was falling apart, he knew for sure what it was.

"It matches the amulet. It can only be the Order's."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go in!" Axel smiled and ran off to the entrance.

"Axel, wait up! There could be traps!" Olivia followed after him and tried to convince him to slow down.

Lukas and Jesse glanced each other with large grins. Together, they went in.

~*Ω*~

When they were inside, they all decided to surround Jesse to make sure everyone could protect and help him (much to his complaints). They formed a triangle shape; Axel was in front, Lukas was to the back left, and Olivia to the back right.

"Look at all those dispensers over there," Axel said, pointing at the dispensers in the walls. "Isn't it cool how they're carved to form faces? Hey, there, little buddy. What do you dispense?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I don't think we really want to find out."

As they were walking, a strange, hollow sound echoed in the hallway, similar to a ghast's cry and the cackling of a witch.

"That's... creepy," Lukas commented.

"No duh," retorted Axel.

As they continued, another similar screech called out, except it was much closer.

It sounded like it was right behind them.

It had freaked out Axel so much that he started to speedwalk which incrementally turned into running. The others tried catching up to him, warning him to slow down.

Jesse was struggling to keep up with the rest and he stumbled, his crutches landing on something with a _click_. He looked down and gasped. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, he caught up with his friends and told them to stop.

"Don't move from here, this is the only spot with no dispensers!" he shouted.

"Jesse, what are you-" Olivia gasped mid-sentence when the arrows started flying out of the dispensers from both sides, to their front, _and_ to their back.

"I- I was..." Jesse panted before continuing, "trying to keep up with everyone when I almost tripped and triggered some sort of plate that set off the trap." He gasped for air and coughed. "Sorry... about that."

"Come on, dispenser faces!" pouted Axel. "I thought we were friends!"

"It's alright, Jay," Olivia comforted, "we should've slowed down and _not have separated from the others._ " The last part was painfully directed at Axel who tried to ignore it.

Axel cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, what do we do now? We can't escape."

"Actually, we might be able to," Lukas thought out loud. "That plate activated the dispensers, so setting it off again must turn them off! We just need to find out a way to hit it from here."

"Everyone, empty your pockets," Jesse said, pulling out the few things he had in his.

As everyone took out all their items, Jesse realized just how much everyone had brought with them before starting this journey.

They weren't prepared at all.

"Alright, we've got some string, three rocks, five sticks, two feathers, and a few coins," he listed. "How should we use this stuff?"

"Well, one option is to just wait for the dispensers to empty," Lukas suggested, "since they can't have infinite arrows. It's always another choice."

"But we'd run out of time. We have to reunite the Order ASAP!" Olivia added.

"Let's throw a rock," proposed Axel. "If we miss the first one, we can use the rest of this stuff to make something more accurate."

"Good idea," Jesse agreed.

Lukas looked around. "Okay, who has the best aim here?"

"Definitely not me."

"I'm better with explosions."

"I guess I'm okay."

Everyone looked at Jesse who took a small step back. "What? I said I was _okay_. What about you, Lukas?"

"I'm more of a bookworm, so no thank you."

"Come on, Jesse. You play basketball with Jess all the time and you're pretty good at making baskets," encouraged Axel.

"Plus, you're better under pressure, and I'm pressuring you to throw that rock, so go do it!" Olivia urged.

"Okay, okay, I'll throw it," Jesse surrendered. Lukas handed the rock to him and Jesse turned around on his crutches.

"Someone hold me up," he asked. Axel went up and held Jesse still.

Jesse stared at the pressure plate on the other side of the dispensers and tilted his head. "Here goes nothing..."

With a grunt, he launched the rock full force at the pressure plate and watched it fly through the arrows. He kept an eye on it as it got closer and closer to the ground and–

 _Click_.

Something triggered and the dispensers stopped suddenly, bringing a strange silence upon the four.

Olivia was the first to jump up and squeal. "You did it, Jesse! We can keep going!"

Lukas cheered and Axel hugged Jesse so tightly, he thought he was going to explode. Nonetheless, he gave a little hoot about his good shot and they continued on down the hallway.

Further down the row was something like a library that was nicely decorated and covered with carpet. Jesse went ahead while Axel and Olivia checked out the books. Lukas stayed behind to collect some spare arrows.

Going past all the shelves, a glow in the center of the back wall caught Jesse's attention. He walked up the few steps where a book was sitting on a stand that emitted the faint glow. He dusted his hand over the top.

A faded title appeared on the cover: _The Legacy of the Order._

He flipped the cover over.


	30. Chapter 30

" _The battle was fierce, but the Order of the Stone emerged triumphant, saving the land and ensuring that peace and prosperity would reign forever._ "

"Well, not exactly _forever_ ," Lukas piped up from behind Jesse. The brown-haired male continued on.

" _These_ five _members,_ five _friends... Together, would give so much to gain their rightful place, as_ five _heroes. They would author their own end. They would slay a dragon._ "

"Wait, who was the fifth member? There's only four!" Lukas mentioned.

Jesse had to double-check the words within the book in order to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "It... was _Ivor_."

" _Ivor_ was a member of the Order of the Stone... The stories never mentioned him. This is so crazy."

Jesse gasped. "This would explain why Ivor had such a grudge against Gabriel!"

"They _lied_ to us," Olivia hissed from behind one of the bookshelves as she walked into view. "They lied to the _whole world_."

"Why would they do this?" Axel also popped up from behind another bookshelf. Then he somewhat chuckled in a surprised/frightened way. "Man, I can't believe you punched a member of the Order of the Stone."

"This is _so crazy_ ," repeated Lukas.

"The Order might not be what we thought they were, but that _monster_ is still out there and we're the _only ones_ who have the keys to stopping it," Jesse said. He leaned over on his other crutch to look at everyone.

"Jesse's right," the blonde nodded. "We need to focus on what we came here to do."

"Where do these stairs go?" randomly voiced out Olivia. Jesse tilted his head and then hopped over to where the dark-skinned girl was standing. He looked up to where the stairs ended and shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

The male twin was helped up the stairs by Lukas while Axel and Olivia followed. Once they were up, they all dispersed, distracted by the intrinsic beauty of the fallen temple. Jesse took a look around.

This large room seemed to be the main area that the Order would do work in. Despite the large wall that had fallen apart on the front side, the room itself seemed to be in good condition. Near the dilapidated wall was some sort of lever pattern with a large light and the opposite wall was a map. In between the levers and the map was a stand with an amulet banner.

"Gabriel said this amulet would show us the rest of the Order," he thought out loud. "What if I brought it out here? Would it just start shining or something?"

After a bit of thinking, he decided to get the amulet out. Walking over to Lukas, he was about to ask for the amulet but then remembered it was still in his own hand. He had been clenching it since the arrow trap.

Sighing to himself, he stared at the amulet. "Might as well try."

He held up the amulet, waiting for any kind of signal or movement from within it, but there was nothing.

"Welp," he exhaled, turning to look at the stand with the banner, "I'm assuming it goes on that stand."

He turned directions and went to the stand. Carefully placing it with one hand, the amulet was now aligned on its edge and was parallel to the light and the map.

Jesse was looking around at what to do next when he noticed Axel staring at the large map of the world with brooding eyes.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" he said as he approached the large male. Axel flinched and then swerved violently, crossing his arms. "Nothing. Whatever." Jesse was not convinced it was 'nothing.' "Axel...?"

"... I was just trying to figure out where Jess would be if she somehow made it out the Witherstorm. I mean, I know she's going to be... _fine_ , but I was just curious."

The male sibling felt a pang through his heart but pushed it to the side. "We're going to find her. I promise."

Axel looked at him with a bittersweet grimace and turned back to the map.

Trying to ignore the sharp blades of guilt going through his chest, Jesse walked to what would have been the back of the large area.

He tapped his chin, scanning the five levers and the lamp on the table. "I'm guessing this lever combo is going to activate the amulet." Flipping the first one, he waited for something to happen. Nothing worked.

"Huh. Maybe this one is a stand-in lever?" He was about to flip the next lever when the lights next to the map flickered. Waiting, he stood still. The lights flickered again and then they stayed static. The first three lights, colored blue, red, and light blue, shone visibly.

He turned the second lever. All but the first light turned off.

Skipping to the fourth one, he watched as the light blue and fourth light, colored green, turned on.

Last lever. The light blue and green light turned off but the last light, a bright white, turned on. the first blue light stayed on.

He tapped his chin again. Time to start guessing.

After a minute of continuous lever flipping, Jesse believed he had the right combination this time.

Carefully flipping each lever in order, he winced on the last one.

"Please don't turn off..." he whispered.

Pushing the bar across, he looked up.

All five lights were on.

... He did it!

HE DID IT!

A slight shudder through the floor distracted him from the bright beacon of light being cast from the lamp on the table through the amulet. When he noticed, he leaned closer to the light and looked back and forth from the map.

"Wow," he breathed, the word escaping from his lips.

From the amulet was another two beacons: one red, one green. They emitted from the respective glass color on the amulet.

Olivia blinked in surprise when the red light shone on her but then gasped in wonder. "It's absolutely _incredible_! How did they build this?"

The whole group huddled back together in front of the amulet stand and looked up at the map. "It looks like some sort of tracking system," Jesse thought out loud. Then he had a revelation and jerked up. "It's _the Order_! It's showing us where they are right now!"

Lukas stepped forward and turned to face all of them. "Look, we don't know how this thing works. Maybe the amulet only tracks them when they're on the surface. Or maybe it doesn't work when they're in the Nether. We have to go off what we _do_ know."

Jesse nodded and looked Lukas dead in the eye. "Gabriel is depending on us. Jess is depending on us. That Witherstorm is still out there. We _know_ that Gabriel was trying to tell us something. We've _got_ to find the Order of the Stone."

"But..." Axel pondered, "there are only two lights? There are only two members of the Order left?"

Jesse walked up closer to the map. "He said Soren was missing..."

"That leaves... Magnus," said Lukas.

"Or Ellegaard," Olivia continued.

Jesse gripped his crutches closer. "Let's head out."

"I'm not going with you guys," Lukas suddenly remarked. Jesse and the others turned around in surprise. The blonde looked straight at them, not losing eye contact. "I have to stay here. If I know Gabriel, he's probably doing everything he can to get to this place. Not to mention Petra is still out there too."

"Petra..." Jesse's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"She's still out there. She has to be."

"I can't believe I forgot about Petra!" Jesse abruptly shouted, holding his temples with his hands. "No! She's been my friend since we were young! How I could forget?!"

Lukas recalled the conversation he had with Jess and bit his lip. Should he tell him about that?

"Lukas!" the tanned twin blurted. "Have you remembered Petra since the very beginning of this!? Why didn't you tell us?!"

"I only remembered until now! The pressure of getting here was too much and we were just all trying to not die. But I have a small hope she's still alive, trying to find us."

Olivia and Axel grabbed Jesse's arms and pulled him back, trying to calm him down. Lukas exhaled slowly.

"But- but if Petra's still out there, you should go find her! She and Gabriel need your help out there!"

Lukas shook his head softly. "Nah, I can't leave. The Witherstorm would get to me first. This is where I should be. If there's even a small chance they're still alive and trying to find us, I have to stay."

He stared at Jesse and jerked his head towards the outside. "Go. Get help. I'm going to focus on making this place safe before nightfall. This temple is... pretty big, though. If we're going to have a chance at fortifying it, I'm gonna need some help." He looked at the three who looked at each other. "If, uh, maybe one of you guys could hang back with me?"

"Sounds like Olivia will have you totally covered while me and Jesse are out finding Magnus," Axel shrugged.

"'Finding Magnus?' You really think that's how it's gonna go?" she glared. "We need Ellegaard. She's the world's greatest engineer. She'll figure out a way to stop that thing."

"We're trying to _destroy it_ ," Axel interrupted, "and when it comes to 'destruction,' Magnus is the master."

Olivia and Axel let go of Jesse and took sides of the map, Olivia on the red light's side and Axel on the opposite. Axel huffed and spoke. "You're a smart person, Jesse. And, obviously, the _smart_ thing to do is to go get Magnus."

Olivia chuckled. "I, heh, think Axel meant 'Ellegaard' there, Jesse."

"Uh, no," Axel raised an eyebrow at Olivia, "I don't think I did. Pretty sure Axel meant 'Magnus.'"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Jesse, the point is, you should be going to Ellegaard's. It's the clear choice to make."

"You've got to come with me," Axel said.

"You're my best friend, Jesse."

"It's you and me. Like always."

"Think about it, Jesse."

"This is more of a gut call."

"We need to make sure we get this right. We're not going to get a second shot at this."

"Whatever decision you make, I'll be cool with it."

Olivia blinked and looked at him. "Really?"

"As long as it's me."

She sighed. "Come on, Jesse, this is an easy call."

"Guys, please..." he finally spoke up between the bickering friends, "it's not easy for me to make a big decision like this. Especially not since I remembered Petra."

Lukas turned around and hung his head.

"But after a bit of thinking... I'm going to have to go with Axel. I'm sorry, Olivia."

"Let's do this," Axel nodded.

Olivia looked a little disappointed but she didn't say anything.

Jesse glanced at Olivia and turned to her. "Olivia, you stay here with Lukas and get the place ready for when either Petra or Gabriel comes back, okay?"

She groaned in frustration. "Fine. But I'm only doing this for Petra and Gabriel."

"I'll take it," he nodded.

Jesse and Axel started to walk towards the stairs when the natural light of the sun started to dim and flash faintly.

"Um, guys?" Lukas called back after them. They turned and Jesse's face fell.

 _The Witherstorm_.

"Please hurry."


	31. Chapter 31

Axel was shoving some sticks into a small backpack while Jesse sat on the floor and watched, his own backpack by his side.

"Maybe we should've grabbed some food before leaving Stonebrook," Jesse moaned, holding his stomach as a rumble erupted.

"Yeah, that would've been nice," Axel mumbled as his own stomach growled. "You think we could scavenge for berries in the woods before we go?"

"I wish, but we don't have time." Jesse sighed. "That Witherstorm is _so_ close to us. We need to go back to the Nether right now."

"As much as I want to chew on some wild food, I agree with you." Axel zipped up his bag and they walked back to the obsidian barrier.

That strange force field-like wall was still there. Jesse stuck his hand through and felt nothing burning off or disintegrating.

"We're good," Jesse nodded, and they walked through.

Upon entering, Jesse felt his crutch lose hold of the ground and he slipped, yelping. Axel dropped his backpack and grabbed Jesse's arm with quick reflexes.

"Jesse!" Axel cried out, gripping his arm tightly. "Jeez, are you okay? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Jesse recomposed himself and made sure his crutch was firm this time. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for catching me, Axel."

The burly male ran his hand through his curly bangs in worry. "Don't do that again, man. You scared the crap out of me."

The smaller male smiled. "Don't worry, I won't do it again. I promise."

Axel wiped his forehead, sighing.

They made their way over to the minecart tracks, getting in a couple of carts. With a small spark, the carts started moving and they shot forward, both of them having to hold on to the edges to keep themselves in.

"I wonder if the Witherstorm—" Jesse stopped mid-sentence as a ghast flew right over him and spat a fireball at the two, blowing up the track and sending them flying.

With a painful grunt as both Jesse and Axel landed and rolled, they hopped back up and gasped when they saw the carts about to roll off the track.

"NO!" Jesse screamed, outstretching his arm. "Grab the carts!"

"I can't!" Axel yelled. "The ghast!"

"Damn it," the cripple cursed under his breath. He had to think of a plan quick or else they would lose precious time or even _die_.

He had the other stuff in his bag that he could use, albeit the bag was starting to singe from the heat. There was some string, another rock he picked up, a chunk of flint...

"Axel, go get the cart while I distract it!"

Axel was caught off guard and faltered. "Wha- Jesse, you can't even wa—"

"Just go!"

With a stumble, the large male got up and ran after the carts. Jesse turned around and backed up a few steps, waiting.

The ghast screeched and spat a fireball out, a little _too_ insanely close to his face. Jesse brought up one of his crutches and struck it as hard as he could, returning it to its sender. The ghast was launched back by the fireball and cried one last time before starting to dissipate.

To make sure it didn't get back up, Jesse stabbed it with his crutch in the middle of its face and took it back out. The ghast evaporated, disappearing, leaving behind a single ghast tear in its place.

"I got the carts!" Axel hollered from behind. Jesse turned around and panted, staring at the ghast tear on the floor. "I... don't know how I killed it, but I did." Axel just smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "You still did it. That's pretty cool in my book. I've only heard of the Order killing ghasts."

"Speaking of the Order, we need to get going," he exhaled, picking up the tear. "No time to lose."

They went back into their carts and continued on, surveying the Nether as they rode by.

"Hey Axel," coughed Jesse.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Lukas and Olivia are okay?"

"I'm pretty sure they are," Axel said, crossing his arms. "Olivia is tough, she can handle it. I don't know about Lukas, and I don't really _care_ about him, but she's probably protecting him, too. Making some redstone thingamadoohickey like she always does."

"Probably. I'm just kind of worried. The Witherstorm was really close when we left. What if it caught up with them? What if they had to leave the temple? What if Gabriel couldn't—"

"Jesse, you're scaring me, too, man. I was just as worried about Olivia. Then you started saying a bunch of 'what if's' and my head started hurting. At this rate, maybe we should have just gone and looked for those wild berries."

"Yeah, you're right. I gotta focus on the task at hand. Can't think about failure now." Jesse sighed, exhaling thoroughly. "We can do this."

"Alright!" Axel smiled. "Man, I can't wait 'till we get to Boomtown. It's gonna be so exciting!"

"Wait, did you just say... ' _Boomtown_ '?"

"Of course I did! What else did you think I said?"

A flash of a sign flew by Jesse's eyes and he buried his face in his hands. "Oh no."

The sign had the name 'Boomtown' on it written with different inks and had numbers as letters. There were also excessive exclamation marks after it.

"This place is not going to be good," he dwelled in his cart. "Did I really make the right decision?"

"Yes!" shouted Axel as they flew through the barrier, loud squeals coming from Jesse's mouth.

They fell from a sign in the air also with the name 'Boomtown' and landed on their faces. Getting up and patting the dust off, Jesse looked around in horror.

"What have I done to myself?"

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 **Thanks for 7k reads on Fanfiction btw :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**This is where the storyline starts to... twist a bit. Although we will still follow the events in the original gameplay, they may occur out of order, but not too far from each other. I have not skipped over or forgotten anything.**

 **(** **Another note:** **Pointing out mistakes or making suggestions like "use more simple sentences" is okay!)**

 **Have fun reading and follow/review if you like it :)**

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"The Witherstorm seems to have gone in a different direction." The dark-skinned girl wiped some redstone dust off her hands. "It's not coming our way anymore. I wonder why?"

"I don't really know," replied the blonde male a few feet away on the ground, restringing a bow. "Hey, Olivia, where do you think Soren is?"

Olivia stood up and turned her head around, clapping her hands together to get some more excess dust off. "Probably far, far away building something amazing. What do you think, Lukas?"

"Well, the amulet didn't show his beam, so I was thinking the Nether, maybe. Or the End, if that's possible." He managed to get the string taut again and he pulled it back experimentally. "Gabriel's color didn't show up either, and he was most likely in the Nether when we used it, so that's my reasoning."

"That makes sense." The young engineer placed a sort of wall down with a bunch of wires behind it. Taping the wires to the back of the wall, she hooked them up to the sensor on the right and a few clicks happened in succession, shooting off a large group of arrows downstairs.

"What did you just connect the wires to?" Lukas asked, curious.

"A light sensor. Daylight sensor to be specific." She pointed at the opaque sensor on the floor. "When it becomes night, the sensor deactivates, letting a different active line send a signal instead. The different lines all connect to the same outcome and can only work in that particular area. When the sensor is off, it periodically turns the dispensers downstairs on and shoots arrows about every two minutes in case someone is camping down there without us knowing."

"That's pretty smart," he nodded, eyes widening in curiosity. He put his makeshift bow down on the table with the levers and picked up some large branches that had been lying nearby. "Hey, can you help me carry these to the front door?"

"Yeah," Olivia said, standing up and stretching. She walked up to his left and lifted the other end of the branches. "Let's go before I drop these."

They carried the branches over to the front door and dropped them in the doorway. "Okay," Lukas exhaled, wiping his forehead, "The hard part is done. You can go back upstairs now."

"No, it's okay. I'm done with everything, just had to troubleshoot the dispensers. What are you doing?"

He looked at the branches and then up at the area around the doorway. "I was going to put a barrier around the doorway, like a fence of some sort. Don't need random animals barging their way in while we're sleeping or something. I found this wire in the library that we could use to connect the branches." Lukas pulled out the wire and smiled at Olivia as she examined the materials.

"Let's start digging some holes to put the branches in," she said.

Using some old stuff they found in the temple, they started to dig separate holes for each branch. When each hole was an adequate size, they lifted up a branch and inserted it, pushing it down to stabilize it. Once the branch was able to stand by itself, they scooped some of the leftover dirt and pushed some back in to fill in the small cracks.

Uncoiling the wire was somewhat difficult as the wire had been pressed on by a large piece of drywall for what could have been a lot of years, making it stuck together. Lukas's hand was cut by the ends of the wire, eliciting a gasp from Olivia.

"Are you okay?" she floundered around, trying to find something to cover his hand with.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he groaned quietly, hissing through his teeth. "It's just a little cut."

"No, it's not. You're freaking bleeding everywhere!" She pointed at his hand and cringed, confirming that there was indeed blood all over his hand and wrist.

His eyes widened and they shifted to look at Olivia with surprise. "I... did not expect it to be that large of a cut."

"Argh! Come on, we'll finish this later," she said, tugging on his other arm. "Let's get you fixed up."

They returned to the front hallway and carefully slunk through all their defenses. They had been careful with their reinforcements within the temple. On the walls were large sticks protruding out to hurt those who decided to run in without caution. The bookshelves had blankets and rags over them, blocking out the light from the enchantment table in the center. Even the staircase had a tripwire connected to a makeshift alarm made out of string and old cans. There was much more, but they were insignificant compared to what had just been stated.

"Alright," exhaled Olivia once they got up the stairs, "where would some sort of first aid kit be?"

Lukas shrugged and she stared at him, unamused.

"Oh, wait!" she popped up, scaring Lukas. "I can use a rag from the library to tie your hand with and some of that grain alcohol from the back room!"

"You think that stuff will kill the bacteria?"

"Well, it's alcohol. And plus, I think it's more effective than whiskey if I remember correctly."

"Okay, then."

"Don't move," Olivia gestured, standing up and twisting her head to look at him. "I'll be right back."

"I wasn't planning on moving," he winced and grimaced. He laughed weakly while staring at his hand, now completely covered in his blood and dripping.

Olivia ran off to go get the materials.

~*Ω*~

"There, that should do it." She tightened the rag a little more and patted the back of his hand.

"Thanks, Olivia." Lukas smiled and got up to stretch. He straightened his jacket. "It was nice of you to help treat my hand."

"Help?" She raised an eyebrow. "It was more like I did it all!" Laughter erupted from her mouth, telling Lukas she was just joking. "But seriously, it's alright. I don't think you could have grabbed anything anyway."

Lukas looked at the floor and scratched the back of his head. "... Hey, Olivia."

"Yeah?"

"Why... Why does Axel not like me? Why did all of you not like us?"

"When you say us, do you mean 'Ocelots?'" She turned her whole body towards him and crossed her arms, somewhat intimidating him.

"Yeah. You guys _really_ seemed to hate us. The whole... uh... Reuben accident was understandable, but I don't get why you guys disliked all of us."

Olivia held her breath, searching for the right vocabulary. After a while, she let it out and tapped her finger on her chin with a side-glance to Lukas.

"Well, for starters, when we first ran into each other, it was a neutral feeling. Then Aiden and the other two came along and we didn't appreciate what he was saying. You didn't exactly help us out either, seeing as you were the leader and you all had matching jackets and you never reached out when they were taunting us..."

"Oh," he frowned, eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm sorry. I should have done something."

"Apology accepted. We're friends now."

He smiled.

"Anyway, it was later that I realized Aiden was the one who purposely broke our build at Endercon and set Reuben on fire. It was a scary realization since the Jesses always talk about running over Aiden and the person who hit Reuben with a Lamborghini when they were rich and able to pay their way out of jail."

Lukas kept his mouth shut and blinked.

"But then Jess told me that they had forgiven you that day you accidentally knocked Vienna and I over." Quietly, Olivia could hear him whisper "Sorry..."

"You don't need to apologize, Lukas. From there, I decided that you were a good person because you were harmless compared to Aiden. You had been much nicer and even helped me pick up my papers. But Axel didn't have those mutual feelings, I guess."

She leaned against the table with the levers. "Axel is... really _protective_ of us. For the longest time, we were known as ' _The Losers_ ' throughout elementary and some of middle school. We were the only friends we had. It was just our small group. The Jesses, me, and Axel. Petra came in third grade, but she was actually pretty cool with everyone else, so she wasn't considered a loser. It was with Petra that we were able to do anything at all."

"Wow." That was all Lukas could breathe out, staring at her with more surprise. "You guys had a rough time."

"Yeah. It was great that the Jesses had known her for a long while before she moved to our school and that she considered _us_ cool. Axel was fascinated with Petra and the way she was able to selflessly help all of us out. He wanted to be like her. So, whenever Petra wasn't around, he would be the one protecting us, being the larger kid out us four. And I assume that's why he doesn't like you. He probably thinks you're like those jerks from back then who would be nice and then backstab us when we least expected it."

"I didn't know you guys went through such things." Lukas shook his head in disbelief to emphasize. "I thought he just hated me because why not. But now that you explained some things, I get it now. I get why you would dislike me. I get why he doesn't want me around you guys. It _all makes sense_ now."

"Hopefully, you also see why the Jesses forgave you."

Lukas looked up at her. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Olivia smiled with bittersweet emotion. She unfolded her hands and pointed at him slowly.

"They don't want to be like _you_."


	33. Chapter 33

**My original caption for this chappie on Wattpad was, "You can't blame me. Miraculous Ladybug season two came out, so I reserve the right to have posted this chapter late. (This includes future chapters xD)" but really I shouldn't have an excuse cri**

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Lukas stepped back in shock. " _Me?!_ What do you mean? I haven't done anything to them on purpose!"

"Let me explain, Lukas." Olivia cleared her throat and picked up the bow that he had left on the table. "It seems that they don't really remember the names of the kids that beat them up the most in elementary school."

"What are you–"

"I'm not even close to being finished yet, just let me talk. Anyway, when we were younger, there were these group of people that would follow us around campus sometimes, always watching, always ready to jump. We made one wrong move and they would punch us, snitch to the teacher, and a bunch of other things. We had no escape until Petra came by."

She pulled the string back. "One day, the Jesses were getting taunted by a few of those jerks and we couldn't do anything since they were holding us down. Then a guy came by and he saw all of us. We called out to him to help us. He didn't do anything. He just watched as we started crying and started screaming frantically. His group of friends came and they started to physically hurt us, socking us in the gut and kicking our sides. The others joined in."

Lukas's mouth was hung open and wide for all to see and Olivia side-glanced at him. "That guy was actually a really close friend of the Jesses, but he didn't do anything. He just stood there, like he was scared of being a _loser_ , too. It was the worst day of our lives. The Jesses had never felt so betrayed before. They couldn't believe that this guy, who they had known for a long time as kids, just left. When they saw him later that week, they confronted him and asked why he didn't help. He said, 'I don't forgive you for anything. You guys left me alone for a long time. You haven't talked to me since first grade. You're not my friends.'"

The blonde finally came to a realization and closed his mouth, covering it with his hand. His eyes were wide and his face was pale as if he saw a dead body.

The curly-haired girl stared at him. "You know exactly who I'm talking about." She pointed the bow at him, pulling the string back farther. She let go of it, just as if she shot an invisible arrow right through him, and the horrifying confirmation dropped from her mouth.

"It was you, Lukas." She frowned. "And I know you remember."

He had to lean against a stray branch sticking out from the floor in order to keep his balance. "I- I do. And I remember the Jesses. I remember." His voice was shaky and he struggled to hide the emotion. "It had been so long, I didn't think it was them–"

"The Jesses don't know it was you, either. Actually, I don't think they even remember the event _or_ you. And, you know, I don't blame you for what you did or said. You were such a theater nerd back then and people made fun of you, too. We weren't the only ones. You had to deal with it on your own unless the other Ocelots were there to help. Perhaps that was why I didn't recognize you until a few days ago– you were so different."

He looked at the ground, his eyes widening even more. Then, in the fading sunlight, he looked up at Olivia.

"You say they don't remember."

"Yeah."

"They don't recognize me from back then."

"Mhm."

"Then... was Jess the one I had been looking for all along?"

Olivia furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about?"

"There was a girl I knew in kindergarten. Her name was Jesse. She looked almost identical to the Jess we know. Jess said it wasn't her but now that you say this, she might actually be the one!"

"Woah, hold on, Lukas. You're speaking _way_ too fast for any sane person to understand. Explain to me more clearly."

Lukas pulled out a keychain loop from his pocket attached to a picture covered with a plastic frame. He pointed at the girl next to his younger self.

"See her? Her name was Jesse Blair Moriyadi."

"Wait–"

"Do you know something?"

Olivia tilted her head to look up at him and he looked at her back. "Lukas, Jess's last name before seventh grade had Moriyadi."

He inhaled unknowingly and held it when he realized, not wanting to exhale until he knew his theories were true.

"Jay's last name was just Blair and Jess's had Moriyadi to differentiate the two. Her full last name was Jesse Blair Moriyadi."

He let out his breath and tilted his head. "Wait, if their name was that before, why are they named _Ryder_ now?"

"I'm not really sure myself," Olivia pondered, "but when I asked them why, they said that _Ryder_ had been their last name. They never actually had Blair as their last name. But the way they answered sounded like they had never heard 'Blair Moriyadi' in the same sentence with their first names."

"What are their parents' names?"

"Christian Blair Moriyadi, Isabelle Blair Ryder. They both had the Blair in the names before getting married."

"So the Ryder part is from their mom?"

"Yeah. You know, now that we're talking about this subject, I've noticed that the Jesses have changed some details or forgotten certain events from back then. They insist that this or that happened but Axel, Petra, and I say differently. Sometimes their stories even contradict each others'. And they might have been together in those stories!"

Lukas crossed his arm. "I wonder if something happened to them."

Olivia awkwardly rubbed her arm and shook her head. "I really don't know. And I don't think they would know either, to be honest."

He rubbed his temples and shook his head rapidly to release tension. "I guess we should figure this out later. It's getting late and we need to finish that fence at the front."

"Yeah," she reluctantly agreed. Then she giggled. "At least your hand isn't bleeding so much anymore."

Lukas looked down at his hand. He'd forgotten that it was all bandaged up from the intense conversation they had. Squeezing his hand into a fist, he made sure it didn't hurt.

"I think I should wear gloves."


	34. Chapter 34

An explosion went off in the distance and Jesse stumbled back up to his feet, brushing the dust off while leaning on his crutch.

Both Axel and he hid behind an already dilapidated house and they carefully stepped across the sand.

"Just be careful, okay?" jerked Jesse. "One wrong step..." Axel nodded and followed behind Jesse.

Their feet slowly slid through the grains of sand underneath them and they hugged the side of the house. The brown-haired twin looked ahead and determined that no one could see them so he crept ahead.

A click under his foot. Crap! A tripwire! He tried to run and warn Axel but a large explosion behind them sent them flying forward and they screamed in surprise.

He caught himself with his crutch but accidentally whacked Axel in the stomach with it, winding the larger male. "Sorry, Axel!" he apologized frantically. "We gotta go, though, this place is dangerous!"

Another explosion in front of him and Jesse felt his face burning. Turning a sharp left, he staggered away from the buildings to an open area.

"This place is awesome!" exclaimed Axel, smiling widely with excitement.

Jesse turned to look at him. He huffed, "Places like these are awesome in _books_ but not in _real life_!"

"What are you talking about?" laughed Axel as they dodged an egg flying at them from the side. "They're always awesome!"

"It would be cooler if my leg wasn't broken!" joked Jesse as he tuck-and-rolled. "It's harder to dodge things when you have to carry a crutch!"

"Then _I'll_ just carry _you_!"

"No thanks!"

They found themselves laughing as they weaved through traps and crazy people with organic grade-A eggs. Eventually, they came to a quiet spot between a group of buildings and stopped to catch a breather.

"How much do you think it would cost to buy a house here?"

Jesse looked over his shoulder to the kleptomaniac. "Why buy a house when you can destroy other ones? Have you seen the place?" He cracked a smile and Axel guffawed. "Heck, I'm surprised the government hasn't closed down Boomtown! There are safety issues _everywhere_!"

"No one cares about safety rules," Axel brushed off, "since ya can't live life stuck inside a small house in the middle of nowhere."

"Screw OSHA, I guess."

They looked at their current surroundings and something large caught Jesse's eye. He hobbled up to it and gasped. "Hey, look! A banner with the amulet on it!"

Axel walked up to him and looked at it over the smaller boy's shoulder. "It is the amulet! Pull it out, pull it out!"

Jesse took out the amulet and held it up in front of the banner. He expected them to look the same, but what Axel and he _weren't_ expecting was the bright glow coming from the green tube.

Axel's jaw dropped and he spoke for the both of them. "Dude, it's freaking _glowing_."

Jesse squinted at the amulet and nodded. "This... glow. I think we both know what it means."

"Now we just have to point it in the right direction and it'll glow brighter, right?"

"Yeah!"

For a few minutes, the two boys held up the amulet and swung it around, pointing it in different directions, carefully watching the glow. They even had a bet over whether it glowed brighter in this or that direction.

Finally, they found its peak brightness and they looked up at what seemed to be a tall spire being buttressed with only a few steel beams.

"That spire right there is where we'll find Magnus," Jesse said to the both of them. Axel nodded in agreement.

A loud _thump_ from behind startled Jesse and the two turned around to find a girl with strikingly unusual dark blue hair and a dark mask placed over her eyes. "Hey there, new people!" said the girl. She smiled and Jesse was unsure whether she was acting cynical or genuine. "You said, uh, you know where Magnus is? All the griefers here in Boomtown want to find Magnus, you know."

"Woah, how long have _you_ been there?" flinched Axel.

 _Griefers? They_ want _to destroy things? That's why Boomtown is literally 'boom town'?_ Jesse interrupted his friend, although not on purpose. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Oh," she smirked, "no reason."

" _What's going on?_ " The sound of another voice to the right diverted Jesse's attention. There was another person emerging from behind the walls– dressed in clothing with an orange theme and had a contradicting blue and green face mask.

Soon after, another person appeared from a different spot. Then another coming from atop roofs.

The first two to appear on the rooftops looked down on Axel and Jesse with a smug glare. "Nohr found some noobs with a thingy that can find Magnus," said the one on the right.

They jumped down, standing next to the other masked figures. Not long after, they started to approach the city kids intimidatingly.

"Jesse...?" Axel backed up a few steps, having no idea how to get out of this.

The black-masked girl turned around to face the semicircle of griefers. "Bunch o' scavengers. This drop is mine!" In response, the group walked closer and closer to her, almost surrounding her.

Jesse was getting a little annoyed with the group, having no civility and their bad mini-monologues; same feeling for Nohr. "Everyone just back off, alright? We need this to find Magnus."

"Hey," rasped the first guy from the rooftop with a red mask, "we all wanna find Magnus, friendo."

Nohr saw Jesse glare at the guy and she took her chance to dart at the amulet. She snatched it out of the poor injured's hands and ran off through the group, startling everyone.

Suddenly, as everyone turned around to chase her, she stopped and rotated to face them again. Her voice boomed and scratched from all her yelling. "O Mighty Magnus, I give to you this offering!"

A reeling sound was heard and the amulet was snatched up, flying into the air aided by a fishing line. " _Nooooo_!" screamed Nohr. Immediately, she whipped around and ran after the fishing line.

A man in the distance jumped down from a roof and started running. A fishing pole was in one hand and the amulet was in the other. Jesse pointed at him frantically and he yelled to Axel, "There! We gotta get it before she does!"

Axel took no moment to wait for Jesse and hoisted the twin onto his back instead. Jesse yelped but held on tightly to Axel's jacket and his crutch. The burly male ran after the thieves, turning a corner. On the other side were Nohr and the fishing guy cackling at each other. "What a bunch of noobs!" laughed Nohr. She noticed them and sent them a condescending smile before the two ran off again.

Jesse groaned in frustration. "Ugh! We _can't_ let them get away!"

Axel started off after them again, making sure to hold onto Jesse tightly so the small boy wouldn't fall off. "Hey, are they running the same way?" Jesse sighed but kept his focus on the robbers. "They're working together."

"This is just how we do it in Boomtown!" said the fishing guy hoarsely, running up the stairs. Axel was about to go after him but then noticed Nohr going through the side of the building.

"Which one took the amulet?" he hesitated, waiting for Jesse to say something.

"Uhh..." Jesse looked back and forth, his decisions wavering. Then his face fell into a stern look. "We have to go after Nohr, that thief. She probably has the amulet because she can get out of places better than the other dude."

"Got it!" Axel carried him across the rubble and through the house to where Nohr stood. She turned around, disliking her 'guests', and cringed her nose.

"Hey, y'know what the best time to visit Boomtown is?" she asked.

The brown-haired boy stared at her. She was obviously going to do something to them, and there seemed to be a space between her and them. "Let me guess, fall?"

"Nope," she smirked. Her hand reached for something behind a wall and a _click_ rattled through the moldy walls.

The sounds of hollering bounced off every building in Boomtown. The ground directly beneath them crumbled and Axel lost his footing. He grabbed the railing and tried to stay connected to Jesse but he was a second too late. Jesse hit the ground with an "oof" and winced.

"Hey, you okay?" Axel called out, still hanging on to the fence which was _surprisingly_ sturdy.

"Y-yeah, just a little winded," croaked Jesse. "Axel, you gotta go after her, she's got the amulet for sure!"

"How do we know for sure?"

"She wouldn't have to trigger a trap if she didn't have the amulet! She could just let the other guy get away and let herself get caught empty-handed!"

"Ooh, that makes sense. Okay, I'm going. I'll come back for you later, okay, man?"

Jesse nodded and gave him a somewhat painful thumbs-up. "I'll be waiting. Now go! You gotta hurry!"

Axel nodded and grabbed the railing with his other hand. Despite the difficulty of pulling himself up, he managed to get by and threw himself onto a broken patio. He turned around and called down into the pit. "I'm up! Gonna go now."

The sound of brisk footsteps started to leave, moving farther and farther away from where Jesse lay, helpless in the deep pit. How had Nohr and that other blockhead managed to get a hole this deep so perfectly? He sighed. That didn't matter now. What mattered was getting the amulet and bringing Magnus back. They couldn't waste any time with the Witherstorm.

He sneezed, blowing up a cloud of sand and dust which caused him to sneeze even more. Irritated, he covered his nose and mouth with his shirt and winced.

"Maybe I should have gone to Redstonia."

* * *

 **It is difficult getting to 1500+ words when there isn't enough stuff to interest you! Btw, what is your favorite moment of Season 1? Mine is in episode 4 where they all hide out in that cave and it's snowing and everything. I could really feel the tension and hopelessness and I actually felt like one of the characters. I give props to whoever directed that part of the game!**

 **Comment what your favorite moment was! (Only in Season 1, don't want spoilers of Season 2 in the review section :])**


	35. Chapter 34 x2 (will merge w 34 later)

**Well, Jesse (or Jay) is stuck in a hole now, with no way to get out because Minecraft physics only work like that in Minecraft and he also has a broken leg. Axel is chasing after Nohr, which, in reality, isn't as exciting as I could make it, and Lukas and Olivia are setting up a fence. Gabriel, Petra, and Jess are also in predicaments that I can't really describe either. Nothing really interesting, right?**

 **Yeah...**

 **I'm not gonna rush and give you guys the smoochies either. That's not how you would treat people in real life just because they're cute and work together xD**

 **So, in order to skip that boring stuff that Jesse does in his cozy pit, let's go _back_ in time to not boring stuff...**

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL?!" What a way to start off the day.

Ivor was yelling at the pile of broken glasses on the ground and was angrily whipping his head around, trying to find the culprit... or culprits.

"Ivor," Gabriel groggily coughed, getting up from the couch, "what is going on?" The Warrior rubbed his eyes and tried to comb his hair back into place with his fingers.

"What did we do last night?!"

"What do you m– oh, for the love of Notch..."

Gabriel finally realized why Ivor was screaming and he vaguely remembered the events unfolding last night. He held his forehead in fear.

"She's going to kill us."

~*Ω*~

"I swear, you all are stomping louder than elephants surrounded by enderman. What's the deal?" Soren yawned, opening the door to the main hallway and walking down to the living room. "Your problem has most likely happened before and has been solved bef- ohhhhh, never mind, you have no way out of this."

Gabriel and Ivor twisted their heads to glare at Soren and simultaneously said, "Ya think?" Gabriel swept glass shards into a dustpan and coughed. "Can you at least help us?"

"I'd rather not, this problem seems unlikely to escape from, and I also have an appo–"

"You're coming with," Ivor interjected, grabbing Soren's arm and pulling him towards the crime scene.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, I'm not staying here any longer!" the Architect exclaimed, refusing to lose to Ivor's firm grip. "This is a murder!"

Ivor grimaced and threw his arms up in the air, letting go of Soren. "If we just clean up, no one will know!" His voice grew progressively louder and Gabriel and Soren both signaled him to quiet down. "We just have to keep her busy 'til then."

"Oh, and how are we supposed to do that, hm?" Soren fixed his glare to Ivor and the oriental man scowled. He refuted, "Well, you were knocked out, too."

"I'm sorry that I am a lightweight and cannot hold my liquor very well!"

"Everyone, we need to focus," Gabriel shouted, kneeling between the two. "She'll come home any minute now, and if she sees this, we're dead meat."

"You shouldn't have drunk so much, Gabriel," scolded Soren, "You're beginning to act reasonably." He giggled a bit after finishing his sentence.

Ivor and Gabriel glanced back and forth from Soren to each other, not moving. They both nodded and agreed, "He's definitely still hungover." "Especially since he's actually talking about you, Ivor," Gabriel added.

"I am perfectly fine, Gabriel, thank you for asking." Ivor scrunched his face into his normal grumpy demeanor and stared at the dark-skinned man.

"Well, let's get back to work," said the Warrior, standing up. "We should let Soren rest on the couch while we do the cleaning. He's not lucid just yet."

"Exactly what I was thinking," nodded the pale, lanky brewer.

The two laid Soren down on the three-seater couch. As soon as the ginger-haired male touched the cushions, he fell asleep. Both Gabriel and Ivor sighed in relief. They got to work, starting with the last of the glass shards. If those were still around, someone as absent-minded as Soren could roll right onto them and not even realize they were being impaled. Then when it was too late, they would scream and cry for help. Both Gabriel and Ivor had experienced this before and did not wish to hear Soren's screeches for warm bath soap again.

Now that the broken glasses were cleaned up and disposed of properly, the vomit and stale pizzas could be cleaned up. Ivor stared at the body fluids in disgust and Gabriel winced, his mouth curling into one of fright.

Gabriel looked at Ivor to his left. "How do we do this safely?"

Ivor seemed to ponder and consider all the different situations. "We don't."

"Son of a–"

~*Ω*~

"We are vile humans," Gabriel commented during their despair, both of them trying not to choke from the fumes.

Ivor tried not to breathe in through his mouth. "I didn't know that much wine could be swallowed and then regurgitated again."

Slowly, they were remembering more from last night. It was clear to the both of them now that they were celebrating their graduation from university, but what they did in between was foggy. Gabriel could remember Magnus doing a keg stand and Ivor could recall Gabriel trying to fight an imaginary beast, but none of them could remember if _she_ was there or not.

"Do we wake up Magnus?" Gabriel asked, washing his hands in the sink immediately.

"Of course not," Ivor grunted. "We tell her he blacked out blowing stuff up like he normally does. Hopefully, she doesn't notice the smell of alcohol that _reeks_ all over his clothing."

"Ivor, you know I'm usually unafraid of most things, right?"

"Why, yes, Gabe, why do you say that?"

"... I'm honestly really scared right now."

There was a moment of silence between them as Gabriel turned off the sink and Ivor stared at the hardwood floor. Gabriel turned slowly to see if Ivor was about to do anything.

The brewer's mouth slowly opened in hesitation. "I'm scared, too."

~*Ω*~

"I'm back, everyone!" The high-pitched voice that was tinted with a bit of an English accent almost knocked everyone's socks off and you could almost hear the quiver that took over Ivor.

"Ah– um, hello, Ellegaard!" Gabriel took the first steps despite his subconscious shouting at him, repeating, " _You're making a HUGE mistake!_ "

"Hello to you as well, Gabe," she smiled, her face glowing. "I bought us some gifts to mark our graduation!"

"That's very nice of you, Ellegaard, but you didn't need to," Ivor coughed, trying to hide his aura. It wasn't working. Gabriel started to shudder from his side of the living room.

"I wanted to, Ivor. You know I don't care what you boys say."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Where's Soren and Magnus?"

"Oh!" Gabriel shot up, as if he were a poptart from a toaster, and lifted one finger up stiffly. "Soren's taking a nap in his room and Magnus is... also taking a nap."

"Oh?" Ellegaard's eyebrow shot up.

Ivor also stood up, glancing at Gabriel and then looking at Ellegaard. "You know Soren, always saying that he's the one carrying us on his back. He decided to rest his 'genius' mind. Magnus just... blew up a few glasses by accident and knocked himself out. You know how it is."

"Hm. Typical. You all have been keeping out of trouble, though, right?"

"But of course!"

"Absolutely!"

"Good," she nodded, placing a few bags down on the counter. "Now, why don't you check out the things I bought? I'm going to go shower."

"Whyyy... don't we do it all together?"

The Engineer blinked at the Warrior. "Huh? Why?"

Ivor walked off to the hallway while Gabriel continued to talk to Ellegaard. "The others are still sleeping, and I'm sure it would mean a lot to all of us if we were to look at our graduation gifts together. Everyone would be very appreciative of that."

Ellegaard let her hair down into its normal curly bob and she tapped her finger on her chin. "Now that you say that, it sounds like a very good idea!" She clapped her hands together. "I'll let them sleep until all of us are here. In the meantime, I'm going to clean up. I spent a terribly long time at the mall with other graduates who knew no manners except shoving and yelling."

Gabriel glanced down the hallway and then shook his head up and down, smiling like a fool. "Of course! Go clean yourself up! You look tired after all that."

"You seem happy for some reason," she chuckled, grabbing her keys. "Is it because we're going to leave in two weeks?"

"Yes, yes!" He laughed, albeit a bit nervously. "That is definitely why."

She shrugged. "Alright. I'll leave you be for now."

Ellegaard walked down the hallway just as Ivor left his room, closing the door softly. He gave the Engineer a meager smile and continued down the narrow lane.

Gabriel pulled him into the living room and whispered fiercely. "Did you get him out of the bathroom?"

"Yes, but I had to put him in my room. We better hope she doesn't knock on Magnus's door."

"I'm still surprised she hasn't found out yet."

"That we drank until sunrise while she was out with friends and ruined everything? That we broke seven glasses? Threw up on the carpet, table, and counter? Learned all of Soren's small insecurities? Overheard Magnus crying about how he wasn't treated well enough by Ellegaard and how he just wanted her acceptance? Then brawled with chairs and almost killed him? Completely wrecked her room and almost short-circuited her machinery because we were curious as to what she was hiding in her workspace?"

"Well, yes, all of that." Gabriel rubbed his neck gingerly and awkwardly glanced to the side.

Ivor shrugged, a corner of his mouth lifting in a vague expression. "I still can't believe we got that wasted."

Gabriel stood quietly, thinking about something before he stared at Ivor with panic. "Did we think about what would happen if Magnus woke up?"

Ivor's eyes widened and you could see he was miffed. "I hate us so much."

As if on cue, a loud wail could be heard coming from inside one of the rooms. "E–llie..." A hiccup made its way into the middle of the cry and both Ivor and Gabriel cursed under their breath. Ellegaard walked out of her room, her towel wrapped around her neck and only covered with a bathrobe. "Was that... Magnus?"

"Are you hearing things?" Ivor growled in his normal grumpy way. "Magnus hasn't even yawned yet."

She looked at them warily but trusted their word. "Okay, then..."

"E~llieeee..."

She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Magnus's door. Then she whipped her head around to stare at the two in the living room. "Am I really hearing things?" Her glare was piercing through them and they fidgeted nervously, eyes flickering around. "No, nothing at all!" laughed Ivor. "I'm sure if there was something, Gabriel would have heard it too, right, Gabe?"

"Of course!" the mentioned person chuckled. "I don't hear anything. You just be off on your way to your shower now–"

Ivor's door burst open, frightening Ellegaard who jumped, and out came a hammered Magnus who couldn't even stand upright. Obviously, Ellegaard was not expecting Magnus from Ivor's door and she backed up right into her doorframe. Then, once she regained her composure, she glared at Ivor and Gabriel with more intensity.

"What have you done?!"

"U-uhm, we can explain, it's not that bad, I mean–"

"It's only a temporary thing, he must still be a little wired from his explosions–"

"He just woke up, it makes sense that he's disoriented–

"Nothing's wrong with him, you just have to look at it from the right angle–"

Their rambling was cut short by Ellegaard's steel voice. "You two have messed with the wrong person."

Ivor and Gabriel looked at each other with panic in their eyes and said the same thing simultaneously. "RUN!"

No one really knows what happened after that. Some accounts of it describe Ellegaard catching up to them and pulling out their hair while others say Ivor climbed up a tree to escape and sacrificed Gabriel. However, the outcome was the same.

Both Gabriel and Ivor couldn't sleep that night.

* * *

 **Welp, that's it for my update spam! Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it (please don't kill me in your spare time).**

 **Leave a review or follow this story! The more notifs I get, the more I'm reminded to update on Fanfiction and the more motivated I become to write new chapters! (I'm not trying to make a shameless self-advertisement, I'm really not, please believe me xD)**

 **Okay, enough of that stuff. Good night!**


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